Manchester United are lining up a £10 million bid for Fulham midfielder Moussa Dembele, with veteran Paul Scholes yet to decide on his future, according to the Daily Mail.
The report says that the Red Devils are keeping tabs on the 24-year-old as Sir Alex Ferguson has already started shortlisting players to strengthen the squad ahead of next season.
The Belgian made 35 league appearances for Fulham this season and has played a key role in the west Londonclub's rise to ninth position in the table and could be an apt replacement for Scholes, who was forced out of retirement by Ferguson around the beginning of the year.
Dembele joined the Cottagers from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar for £5 million in 2010 and though he originally was bought as a striker, Fulham boss Martin Jol's decision to play him as a midfielder has been crucial to the player's success in English football.
With Lille's talisman Eden Hazard likely to join rivals Manchester City, Ferguson is desperate to add a few bodies to the United midfield, especially due to the long-term absence of Darren Fletcher and Tom Cleverley, due to illness and injury problems respectively.
Ferguson has also admitted that he will hold talks with Scholes in an attempt to persuade him to extend his comeback from retirement for another season.
"I will speak to Paul. Obviously he made a tremendous contribution when he came back. But it was his decision to return and I will respect whatever he wants to do," the newspaper quoted the Scot as saying.
"I haven't discussed it with him yet, to be honest. I think I made that mistake last season, talking to him before the season had finished. It is better getting the season over and having a break and I may not speak to him before he has been away on holiday," the United manager added.
Ferguson was spotted in Berlin monitoring Japanese playmaker Shinji Kagawa as Borussia Dortmund beat Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German Cup final on Saturday.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring for the German Champions as they cruised to a comfortable victory over the Champions League finalists.
Kagawa has only one year left on his current contract with Dortmund and has been linked heavily to make a move to Old Trafford in the summer. "For sure Manchester is a great club, but what the future holds I do not know yet," ESPNquoted the midfielder speaking after the game.
