Manchester United are looking to get one over their rivals Manchester City by beating them to the punch for the signing of Shakhtar Donetsk's highly-rated midfielder Fernandinho.
Manchester City were made to believe they had agreed a deal with the Ukrainian club for a fee of around €20 million (£16.5 million, $27 million), but United have now joined the chase for the Brazilian, according to the Daily Mirror.
While Sir Alex Ferguson has said he will not buy new players in the January transfer window, the United manager might be forced to act next month or risk losing the player, if City decide to go through with their interest.
However, another problem that both teams might face is the fact that Shakhtar are strong financially and don't need to sell any of their players.
Manager Mircea Lucescu is keen to keep the same side that impressively qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds at the expense of defending champions Chelsea and will resist any move for Fernandinho.
The 27-year-old was one of the standout players for Shakhtar in this year's Champions League, and has seen his stock rise considerably as a result. The Brazilian is reportedly keen to make a move to England, which might act in the two Manchester clubs' favor.
Meanwhile, Wigan manager Roberto Martinez wants United youngster Angelo Henriquez on a short-term loan deal to cover for the loss of Arouna Kone when he leaves to play in the African Cup of Nations next month.
Henriquez was bought by United in the summer, but has found is difficult to break into the first team, considering the abundance of talent at Ferguson's disposal in the forward front.
With Robin Van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez already making waves this season, the chances of Henriquez getting any sort of first team action is highly doubtful.
Taking that into consideration, Ferguson might be keen to allow the loan deal to go through to let the 18-year-old gain some first team action, under the tutelage of the astute Martinez.
The one hitch, however, will be the fact that Henriquez was scheduled to represent Chile in the South American under-20 finals next month, and the striker will have to pull out from the tournament to be available for a move to Wigan.