Transfer news: Manchester United reportedly open talks with Willian Carvalho over £29m move from Sporting Lisbon

Angola-born Portugal international is valued by his club at £29m but David Moyes is hoping to land the 21-year-old for around £25m before the World Cup

Sporting Lisbon midfielder Willian Carvalho is a transfer target for Manchester United, though the £29m asking price remains a stumbling block (Getty Images)

Manchester United are believed to be in talks with Sporting Lisbon in relation to a £29m move for their latest star William Carbalho, with David Moyes identifying the defensive midfielder as the answer to his mounting problems at Old Trafford.

United nabbed Cristiano Ronaldo from the Portuguese club in 2003 when they landed the current Ballon d’Or winner for around £12.25m, and Moyes is hopeful that a deal can be agreed to land the 21-year-old Angola-born Portugal international.

However, with Sporting slapping a €35m (£29m) price tag on the midfielder, talks could be slightly hindered as United feel he is worth around £4m less.

United have already begun addressing their perceived squad weakness by shelling out £37.1m to land Spaniard Juan Mata from Premier League rivals Chelsea, with the 25-year-old making a steady start to life with the Red Devils since his January transfer.

Moyes’ first signing upon his arrival as the successor to Sir Alex Ferguson was the £27.5m deal for Marouane Fellaini, but the addition of the Belgium international has proven far from successful so far this season as injury and poor form have hampered the central midfielder.

Fellaini was the centre of a controversial tackle during the 3-0 Premier League victory over West Brom on Saturday that left Claudio Yacob with a nasty graze on his thigh, with the Belgian’s boot visibly raised high as he went in to challenge the Argentinian.

It appears though that the United star will not face any retrospective action for the tackle, with the Daily Mail reporting that referee Jon Moss and his fellow match-day officials saw the clash, meaning it cannot be referred to a video panel.

Had they not seen the challenge, the FA would have had the option of referring the incident to a three-man panel made up of former referees, who would have been tasked with making a decision regarding whether Fellaini merited a red card for the tackle.

As such, he will be available for United as they prepare for their league match against Liverpool on Sunday before going about the task of overturning a 2-0 deficit in their Champions League last-16 second leg against Olympiakos.