According to the Mirror Football, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is preparing a shock transfer for Leicester City’s young centre-half Liam Moore.
Sir Alex sent his chief scout Jim Lawlor to watch the teenager in action at the weekend as he sizes up a move, possibly before the window shuts on Friday.
United are in the market for an immediate solution to their defensive crisis, with Michael Carrick’s SOS call to play centre-half and Rio Ferdinand’s injury troubles putting them on the spot.
Carrick struggled to cope with the aerial power and strength of Marouane Fellaini in the defeat against Everton. The big Belgian dominated the United defence in that opening fixture defeat, and claimed the winning goal with a header that left Fergie fuming.
Moore has only played a handful of games for the Foxes but is already attracting huge interest. With United short of centre-backs, Ferguson could move fast to beat the other interested clubs.
United are also on red alert because of the remarkable volume of interest in Moore so soon after he made the first team at Championship level.
Everton’s Alan Stubbs was also watching, along with the chief scouts of Sunderland and Tottenham.
Moore came through the ranks at Leicester, with a brief spell on loan at Bradford. His current club have not put a valuation on Moore but could be in for a decent windfall as some big teams prepare to take on the promising English prospect.