Reports: Manchester United to sign £35 million Barcelona star

What's the story?

Premier League club Manchester United are set to finalise a deal for Barcelona midfielder Andre Gomes according to Spanish media outlet Don Balon.

The Spaniard's agent, Jorge Mendes, is reportedly influencing the player to sign for the Red Devils when the transfer window opens in January.

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Gomes joined Barcelona with high hopes from Valencia for a fee of €35 million in 2016. However, the 24-year-old's spell at Camp Nou has not gone as planned even after Ernesto Valverde replaced Luis Enrique in the summer. He has only scored a total of three goals for the Catalan club since his arrival one and a half years ago.

Manchester United were linked with the former Benfica player last summer, but the two clubs failed to agree on a deal, according to reports.

The heart of the matter

Manchester United have renewed their interest in the Portuguese international and want to make him their first signing of the January transfer window according to Don Balon.

André Gomes: Only 2 central midfielders have completed more dribbles than Gomes (114) in La Liga since the start of the 2014/15 season pic.twitter.com/SbCvtj2IoZ

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 31, 2017

The Red Devils have struggled without their star midfielder Paul Pogba -- when he was injured and suspended -- and Mourinho intends to solve this problem by bringing in another central midfielder.

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Author's take

Don Balon transfer rumours should be taken with more than just a pinch of salt. However, Mourinho is expected to strengthen his squad this January to keep Manchester City on their toes in the race for the Premier League title and also bring a silverware to the Old Trafford.

He did show at Valencia that he can thrive in the ideal set up, so perhaps Jose Mourinho can get the best out of him. United need all the depth they can get with City swamping the league, so Gomes won't be that bad an option.