Manchester United made a surprise attempt to sign a replacement for Alejandro Garnacho, but have failed in their negotiations.
With Garnacho seemingly set to join Chelsea this January, Manchester United are keen on adding more attacking quality to their squad that suits Ruben Amorim's specialist style of play.
That saw them focus on forwards available for a good deal, with one key name making an impression.
Manchester United tried to sign Ipswich-bound Julio Enciso
According to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Manchester United made a last-minute attempt to hijack Brighton forward Julio Enciso's loan move to Ipswich, but left it too late. Negotiations between the Red Devils and the Seagulls reportedly took place, but the Paraguayan was too far along in the process with Ipswich.
Enciso is a sharp forward who would have slotted in perfectly to one of the No.10 slots employed by Amorim in his 3-4-3 system. His goals during the 2022/23 season for Brighton highlighted his ability to pick the ball up from deep and deliver powerful shots at goal, while his creativity would've provided more chances for Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee.
Ipswich, though, have since confirmed the signing of Enciso on a loan deal for the rest of the season, with the 21-year-old looking to get his career back on track with more regular first team minutes. He is available to take on Liverpool on Saturday.
Whether Manchester United would have completed a similar loan deal is unclear, though FourFourTwo certainly believes there's some truth to the report.
Jason Wilcox, now Manchester United's technical director and a key figure in the club's transfer business, worked at Manchester City as academy director in 2022. Manchester City showed an interest in signing Enciso from Libertad in 2022 while he was still only 18, and would've likely worked with Wilcox to further develop his career.
Ultimately, that never happened as he instead chose to join Brighton, but FourFourTwo believes that some level of interest would have remained from Wilcox's side.
