Manchester United are at risk of losing out on Real Madrid’s young star Endrick, with reports from France suggesting that Olympique Lyonnais are leading the race to sign the striker. Endrick is expected to depart Madrid on a loan deal until the season’s end after spending the first three months of the season warming the bench.

The 19-year-old only made his debut this season in Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Valencia, featuring for just 11 minutes. The prodigy’s situation at the Santiago Bernabeu has caught the attention of several top-tier European teams.

West Ham, Aston Villa and Juventus have all joined Ruben Amorim’s side in showing interest in a temporary January move. United’s need for a new striker is becoming more pressing each week.

Benjamin Sesko is Amorim’s preferred centre-forward following his transfer from RB Leipzig, but the alternatives behind the £73.7million signing are scarce. Joshua Zirkzee has only featured four times in the Premier League this season, coming on as a substitute in each match.

After playing a mere eight minutes in the 4-2 triumph over Brighton, Zirkzee was left on the bench at Nottingham Forest and is open to a winter window move. With Chibo Obi progressing with the Under-21s this season, Amorim currently lacks a dedicated backup for Sesko and has opted for ‘false nine’ options when the Slovenian does not start.

Reports suggest that Zirkzee has numerous admirers in Italy, with the Netherlands international keen to secure regular playtime ahead of the World Cup. Should he depart United in January, the intricate task of recruiting a new striker to compete with their high-priced player will fall on Jason Wilcox and Omar Berrada.

Endrick on a six-month loan seems to be the ideal candidate, however, French publication L’Equipe has disclosed that Lyon, a Ligue 1 team, is now leading the race to secure the young prodigy. The report suggests that Paulo Fonseca, Lyon’s manager, has directly approached the striker to entice him to France in January.

It appears that this conversation has convinced Endrick to prioritise a move to the Groupama Stadium. While Madrid and Lyon continue to negotiate the specifics, it leaves United back at square one in their quest for attacking depth.

Vitor Roque, who recently returned to Palmeiras, is the latest centre-forward to be linked as an alternative to Endrick. After a challenging stint at Barcelona, the 20 year old returned to Brazil earlier this year and has netted 24 goals in all competitions.

Spanish publication Sport reports that United are ‘monitoring’ his situation at Palmeiras and are ‘preparing a £44m (€50m) offer to sign him. Although a move is unlikely to happen until the summer.



By Josh Holland

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