Manchester United transfer news: United given new hope in race for Juan Cuadrado as Barcelona talks stall

Barcelona were believed to be leading the race for the Colombian international

Juan Cuadrado is the subject of interest from some of Europe's biggest clubs (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Juan Guillermo Cuadrado have been given a boost, with the Fiorentina winger’s agent confirming that talks with Barcelona have hit a roadblock.

Earlier this week, Fiorentina’s sporting director Daniele Prade placed a €50 million price tag on Cuadrado in the hope of warding off growing interest from United and Barcelona, both of whom have been pursuing him since the start of the summer.

That appears to have been enough to scare off the Catalan giants, with Cuadrado’s agent Alessandro Lucci revealing that conversations between Barcelona and his client have ceased.

“I’ve been in direct contact with Barcelona and with other clubs. They showed interest but now there are no negotiations in place, not with Barcelona or any other clubs,” Lucci told the Italian website Tuttomercatoweb.

Lucci was also quick to absolve Barcelona of any wrongdoing with regards to their pursuit of Cuadrado, denying that they were urging Cuadrado to go on strike in order to force through his move.

Cuadrado was a key figure in Colombia’s impressive World Cup campaign. James Rodriguez stole the majority of the headlines during his side’s serene march to the quarter-finals and was rewarded with his own big-money move to Real Madrid – but Cuadrado was arguably just as important, recording four assists and a goal in Brazil.

‘Barcelona’s directors are serious professionals and they never insisted he employed those types of strategies,’ he said.