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Manchester United have moved ahead of Barcelona in the battle for Mats Hummels, according to reports in Spain.
The Borussia Dortmund centre-back is in strong demand following his commanding displays for Germany at the World Cup and was thought to be closing in on a move to the Nou Camp.
However Spanish newspaper Sport , which has close ties with the Catalan club, reports that Barcelona have conceded defeat in the race for the 25-year-old.
That leaves Manchester United is his likely destination, should Dortmund be persuaded to sell the defender. The arrival of Matthias Ginter from Freiburg has been viewed by some as an indication that they could be.
Hummels himself has never expressed a desire to move, only saying that he is happy with the 2013 Champions League finalists.
Show all 53 1 /53The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Alexis Sanchez - Barcelona to Arsenal (£35m) Arsenal will look to their second most expensive signing in their history to fire them to a first Premier league title in 11 years
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Mathieu Debuchy - Newcastle to Arsenal (£12m) Arsenal unveiled new signing Mathieu Debuchy after completing a drawn out move for the French right-back to replace Bacary Sagna
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Calum Chambers - Southampton to Arsenal (£16m) Chambers has only made 18 Premier League starts in his relatively young career, but that's all it took to persuade Arsene Wenger to sign the 19-year-old as he became the fifth player to leave Saints for a reported £16m
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Joe Cole - West Ham to Aston Villa (Free) Joe Cole's time at West Ham came to an end after he agreed a free transfer to Premier League rivals Aston Villa
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Philippe Senderos - Valencia to Aston Villa (Free) The Swiss defender featured at the World Cup, having already confirmed his return to the Premier League with Villa
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Michael Kightly - Stoke to Burnley (Undisclosed) Michael Kightly spent last season on loan with Burnley and has made the move a permanent one
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Diego Costa - Atletico Madrid to Chelsea (£32m) After a fairly long pursuit, Chelsea completed the signing of La Liga winner Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid after triggering his £32m release clause
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Cesc Fabregas - Barcelona to Chelsea (£30m) Cesc Fabregas returned to England but not with his former club Arsenal, as the Spaniard joined the Blues in a £30m deal
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Didier Drogba - Galatasaray to Chelsea (Free) The Chelsea legend returned to his former home as he signed a new one-year deal, having been released by Turkish side Galatasaray at the end of the season.
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Muhamed Besic - Ferencváros to Everton (£4m) The defensive midfielder was quietly impressive for Bosnia in the World Cup, and returned to complete a £4m move to Merseyside
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Romelu Lukaku - Chelsea to Everton (£28m) Romelu Lukaku made his loan move to the Toffees permanent as he completed a club-record transfer for £28m
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Gareth Barry - Manchester City to Everton (Free) Barry was another who turned a loan-move into a permanent one as he joined the Toffees following his release from Premier League champions City
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Brendan Galloway - MK Dons to Everton (£4m) The Toffees signed the teenage defender to a long-term five-year contract, with the hope that he will develop alongside John Stones to be the first-choice Everton centre-back partnership in the years to come
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Jake Livermore - Tottenham to Hull (£8m) You guessed it - another loan move-turned-permanent as Livermore left Spurs in an £8m to join the FA Cup finalists
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Robert Snodgrass - Norwich to Hull (£7m) Relegated Norwich allowed Robert Snodgrass to join Hull for an immediate return to the Premier League
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Tom Ince - Blackpool to Hull (Free) Tom Ince was one of the most sought-after free agents on the market this summer, but despite reports of him joining Inter Milan, he agreed to move to Hull with Blackpool receiving a compensation fee
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Matthew Upson - Brighton and Hove Albion to Leicester (Free) Matthew Upson rejected the chance to stay with the Seagulls to have one more crack at the top flight
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Marc Albrighton - Aston Villa to Leicester (Free) Much was hoped from Albrighton at Villa, but his failure to push on has seen him join newly-promoted Leicester on a free transfer
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Leonardo Ulloa - Brighton to Leicester (undisclosed) Ulloa scored 25 goals in 52 appearances for Brighton since joining them from Spanish side Almeria in January 2013, enough to convince the Premier League newcomers to sign him up
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Rickie Lambert - Southampton to Liverpool (£4m) Lambert agreed a move to his boyhood club Liverpool before heading to the World Cup with England
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Adam Lallana - Southampton to Liverpool (£25m) The Reds quickly followed up the move for Lambert with a hefty transfer for Saints skipper Lallana
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Lazar Markovic - Benfica to Liverpool (£20m) Following the sale of Luis Suarez, Liverpool invested nearly a third of the £75m in 20-year-old Lazar Markovic
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Emre Can - Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool (£9.5m) The Reds added Bayer Leverksuen ace Emre Can at the beginning of the summer
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Dejan Lovren - Southampton to Liverpool (£20m) Lovren followed Lallana and Lambert in moving to Anfield after he finally got the move that he was pushing for. Having featured at the World Cup for Croatia, much is expected of the centre-back in order to solidify the Reds' defence
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Fernando - Porto to Manchester City (£12m) Manchester City's largest piece of transfer business so far this summer is the £12m addition of Fernando, who was a January target for Manuel Pellegrini
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Bacary Sagna - Arsenal to Manchester City (Free) Bacary Sagna may have ended his Arsenal career on a high note, but he won't get a warm welcome when he returns to the Emirates after he joined City for nothing
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Willy Caballero - Malaga to Manchester City (£6m) Pellegrini tapped into his former club Malaga to lure goalkeeper Willy Caballero to the Etihad
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Eliaquim Mangala - Porto to Manchester City (£32m) Atheltic, composed French defender should slot into City's starting XI after completing a reported £32m move from Porto
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Ander Herrera - Athletic Madrid to Manchester United - (£28.5m) The first player to join United's squad revamp, Herrera was a failed target last year, but paid his own release clause in order to secure a move to Old Trafford
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Luke Shaw - Southampton to Manchester United (£30m) Despite just one full season in the Premier League and a handful of England caps, Louis van Gaal sanctioned the record-breaking move for Shaw after the World Cup
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Siem de Jong - Ajax to Newcastle (£6m) Newcastle ended their transfer exile by brining in former Ajax captain De Jong
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Emmanuel Riviere - Monaco to Newcastle (£6m) Newcastle completed the £6m signing of Monaco forward Riviere to continue their influx of French players at St James' Park
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Daryl Janmaat - Feyenoord to Newcastle (£5m) Daryl Janmaat agreed to join the Magpies in order to replace the departed Frenchman Mathieu Debuchy
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Remy Cabella - Montpellier to Newcastle (£12m) Remy Cabella left Montpellier to complete a £12m switch to the north-east
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Rio Ferdinand - Manchester United to QPR (Free) Rio Ferdinand turned down 'lucrative offers' to remain in the Premier League with promoted QPR
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Stephen Caulker - Cardiff City to QPR (undisclosed) The 22-year-old centre-back was brought in after spending just a year with relegated Cardiff City. He will line-up alongside other new recruit Rio Ferdinand
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Dusan Tadic - FC Twente to Southampton (10.9m) Dusan Tadic became Southampton's first signing under new manager Ronald Koeman
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Shane Long - Hull to Southampton (£12m) Long completed a move to his third club of 2014 after agreeing a £12m move to the south coast as Southampton look to rebuild their squad after their summer depletion.
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Mame Biram Diouf - Hannover to Stoke (Free) Mame Biram Diouf returned to the Premier League after a spell in Germany, as Stoke secured the former Manchester United striker
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Phil Bardsley - Sunderland to Stoke (Free) The controversial character move south to join Stoke on a free transfer
The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Steve Sidwell - Fulham to Stoke (Free) Steve Sidwell was released by Fulham following their relegation last season, and the well-travelled midfielder elected to join Stoke in an instant return to the Premier League
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Jack Colback - Newcastle to Sunderland (Free) Colback stunned Magpies fans when he moved across the city to fierce rivals Sunderland on a free transfer
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Jordi Gomez - Wigan to Sunderland (Free) The FA Cup winner left the Championship club in order to head north to join Sunderland
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Costel Pantilimon - Manchester City to Sunderland (Free) After three years with Manchester City, Pantilimon headed to Sunderland to try and resurrect his first-team career
The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Lukasz Fabianski - Arsenal to Swansea (Free) Having lifted the FA Cup trophy in his final appearance for the Gunners, Fabianski headed to Wales to join Swansea and rival Michel Vorm for the starting berth
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Bafetimbi Gomis - Lyon to Swansea (Free) Bafetimbi Gomis has long been linked with a move to the Premier League, and he finally got his wish when he left Lyon to join the Swans
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Jefferson Montero - Morella to Swansea (Undisclosed) Ecuador international Jefferson Montero has completed a move to the Liberty Stadium after his participation at the World Cup, joining from Mexican side Morella
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Gylfi Sigurdsson - Tottenham to Swansea (Swap) Gylfi Sigurdsson returned to Swansea after two years with Tottenham, completing a swap deal with left-back Ben Davies
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Ben Davies - Swansea to Tottenham (Swap) Ben Davies joined Tottenham from Swansea in a swap deal involving Gylfi Sigurdsson, and the left-back looks set to be first-choice at White Hart Lane under Mauricio Pochettino
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Eric Dier - Sporting Lisbon to Tottenham (£4m) Eric Dier returned to the UK after 14 years in Portugal, with the defender spening his youth career with Sporting Lisbon
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Joleon Lescott - Manchester City to West Brom (Free) After finding himself out of Manuel Pellegrini's plans, Lescott moved on from the Premier League champions in order to join West Brom
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Craig Gardner - Sunderland to West Brom (Free) Craig Gardner left Sunderland after last season's near-miss with relegation in order to join the Baggies
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The biggest Premier League transfers 2014-15 Mauro Zarate - Velez Sarsfield to West Ham (Undisclosed) The once high-rated Argentinian joined the Hammers after a brief spell back in his homeland
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With Manchester United keen on signing a new centre-back following the departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, The Independent understands that a more likely target is Feyenoord's Stefan de Vrij.
The Netherlands international is keen on linking up once more with Van Gaal and has reportedly been assured by the new Manchester United manager that he is ready to make a £10m move for the defender, who has just one year remaining on his current contract.
De Vrij started in all seven of the Netherlands' games at the World Cup, either on the right of the three defenders or as a more traditional centre-back, scoring in the opening demolition of Spain.
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