On Flashscore we recently revealed that strengthening at left-back has become a key priority ahead of signing a left-sided attacker.
There has been relatively little public discussion surrounding the role compared to other areas, but United’s recruitment team view the position as an important area for improvement and have narrowed their focus.
Hall is believed to be the lead left-back target under serious consideration after Nathaniel Brown, another player hugely admired by the club, moved closer to joining Bayern Munich.
Brown was the main alternative that United had explored in depth, leaving Hall as a standout candidate moving forward.
Newcastle’s stance is expected to make negotiations complicated. The Magpies are reluctant to lose one of their most promising young players and are not actively looking to sell.
We understand Man United have already used intermediaries to gauge the player’s feelings about a potential transfer and have received positive feedback regarding his openness to the switch.
United are understood to value Hall at around £50 million.
The recent agreement that will see Marc Cucurella join Real Madrid for £52 million is viewed internally as a useful benchmark for the market, with sources close to Old Trafford believing the deal helps establish the sort of fee they would expect to pay for Hall should negotiations progress.
One complication to that would be if Chelsea were to join the battle. There is a possibility they look to Hall as a Cucurella replacement – which would give Newcastle the chance to open up a bidding war.
Sources suggest United are preparing to intensify their efforts and are likely to make Hall a primary focus of their recruitment plans in the near future.
Internal discussions are advanced, and the club are expected to make firmer progress soon.
Hall, so far, is not attempting to force an exit from Newcastle, even though the 21-year-old is believed to be open-minded towards any opportunity to join Manchester United.
That leaves United facing a delicate task as they attempt to plot how they could convince Newcastle to sell the player.
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