Man Utd eye £6m raid for Sporting Lisbon defender

Manchester United are reportedly monitoring Sporting Lisbon ace Paulo Oliveira.

The 13-time Premier League champions, who returned to the top of the table for the first time in over two years at the weekend, have sent scouts out to watch the centre-half in action during Sporting’s 2-1 win over Rio Ave earlier this month.

The 23-year-old, who only arrived from Vitoria de Guimaraes last summer for £1.2m, has featured ten times already this season for the Portuguese giants.

Oliveira, who was handed his Portugal debut against Cape Verde back in March, could be the subject of a £6m bid from Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils during the January transfer window.