Lucas Moura to Manchester United: Louis van Gaal could resurrect United's interest in PSG forward

Lucas is having to make do with substitute appearances and could be targeted by United in January three years after they missed out on the Brazilian

PSG forward Lucas Moura celebrates scoring against Malmo in the Champions League (Getty Images)

Manchester United are being linked with a fresh move for Paris Saint-Germain forward Lucas Moura, over three years after missing out on him when the French side blew their bid out of the water.

Moura was wanted by both United and Inter Milan when he became available from Brazilian side Sao Paulo in the summer of 2012, and he reportedly completed a medical with the Premier League side ahead of a transfer to Old Trafford.

However, PSG used the deal to flex their new financial muscles, and stole in with a bid of €45m to take the then 19-year-old to the French capital, just weeks after they had pulled of the signings of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva.

Fast-forward three-and-a-half years and French newspaper L’Equipe reports that United have resurrected their interest in the now 23-year-old, who has had to make do with a role from the substitutes’ bench in recent times.

Lucas has started just three of PSG’s last 10 matches, and the opportunity to restore some bite to United’s lacklustre attack would certainly be an enticing one should the Brazil international fancy a new challenge.

United manager Louis van Gaal is determined to inject “pace and creativity” to his attack and looks set to bring in players who can be deployed out wide, be it in the January transfer window or at the end of the season. Lucas would certainly fit the bill, but PSG are unlikely to let him go cheaply and United could be forced to shell out a large transfer fee once again despite spending over £350m on new players during Van Gaal’s reign at Old Trafford.

Speaking at the time of Lucas’s move to PSG, former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was scathing of PSG’s tactic of paying more than what the Scot believed the player was worth.

"I find it quite amazing that a club can pay €45million for a 19-year-old boy," said Ferguson in 2012.

"To tell everyone that PSG are here they've signed Thiago Silva and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. They must have spent about £150million in the last month.

"The only deterrent to that is Uefa.

"In the conditions of European football, you don't qualify for Europe by winning the league or coming second - you only get in by invitation.

"That's where, hopefully, Uefa can have some power.

"When somebody's paying €45million for a 19-year-old boy you have to say the game's gone mad."

United have also been linked with moves for Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale, Barcelona striker Neymar and Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller, while Leicester’s in-form striker Jamie Vardy has cropped up on the radar this week.