"It was a good bid but we did not accept" - Club president provides fresh update on reported Manchester United target's future

Porto president Pinto da Costa has claimed that the club have rejected a bid from an unnamed club for midfielder star Vitinha, who has been linked with Manchester United. Da Costa said that the bid was not up to the mark and will only let go off the player if the release clause is met.

The 22-year-old central midfielder has become a wanted man this summer due to his excellent performances in the most recent campaign for the Portuguese champions. He has scored four times and provided five assists in 47 appearances across competitions.

The promising midfielder already has three caps for Portugal but only has two years left on his current deal at the Dragons.

According to The Mail, Vitinha has a relatively cheap release clause of £34 million in his contract. This has ignited interest from Manchester United as well as Arsenal and Barcelona.

Speaking to The Record (as per Fabrizio Romano), Porto club president Da Costa claims his team dismissed an offer for their star midfielder as he stated:

“We’ve received a concrete proposal for Vitinha, yes - it was a good bid but we did not accept. So we mentioned again the release clause, which is the only way to sign Vitinha”.

Vitinha spent the entire 2020-21 at Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers but failed to make any sort of impact during his time at Molineux. He made 23 appearances across competitions, scoring and assisting just once each.

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Manchester United desperately seeking new central midfielder for next season

Manchester United are set to undergo a squad overhaul under new manager Erik ten Hag this summer following a disastrous 2021-22 campaign for the club.

One area of the pitch the 20-time English champions will need to recruit for is central midfield. This is due to the imminent departures of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Nemanja Matic on free transfers.

United's failure to qualify for the Champions League may ultimately hamper their ambitions to sign elite-level players. However, reports linking the Manchester outfit with Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong refuse to go away.

When asked about the links to Old Trafford, the 25-year-old Dutch international told reporters (as per The Metro):

"You’re always flattered when teams show interest in you as a player. But, as you say, I am at the biggest club in the world at the moment and I feel fine there, so no news."

De Jong has made 140 appearances for the Blaugrana since his big-money €86 million move from Ajax in 2019, where he was previously coached by Ten Hag.