Manchester United prepare offer for 21-year-old Spanish defender - Reports 

Manchester United are reportedly preparing a bid for young Anderlecht left-back Sergio Gomez. The 21-year-old Spaniard has been in fine form for the Belgian side this season, scoring five goals and contributing 11 assists in 32 appearances.

Anderlecht-Online (via ManchesterEveningNews) has reported that United have sent scouts to Belgium to watch the young left-back, who have been impressed with his performances. The Red Devils face competition from Serie A giants Inter Milan in the race for Gomez, though.

This is not the only intriguing stumbling block, though. They will also have to do business with Anderlecht manager and former Manchester City centre-back Vincent Kompany. Nevertheless, interest in Gomez is merited, considering not only his performances for club but also with the Spain Under-21 team.

During the European Championships U-21 qualifying campaign, he has scored six goals and provided five assists.

However, Leeds United are also in the fray for the player.

Manchester United need to target long-term acquisitions this summer

In recent seasons, Manchester United have mostly targeted big-name players instead of addressing glaring issues in their squad.

Cristiano Ronaldo's return may have delighted the Old Trafford faithful. However, in reality, United would have been far better suited bringing in a defensive midfielder.

Under former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, their plan to target youth and homegrown talent went out the window within a year. The club had brought in Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire and Daniel James during the 2019 season.

These were viewed as strategic moves to return the club back to the days when they had a predominately homegrown and youthful side. Fast forward a year, and Solskjaer signed a 33-year-old Edinson Cavani, Brazilian left-back Alex Telles and Dutch playmaker Donny Van de Beek.

All of them can be deemed non-neccessities, reeking of poor planning, with Van de beek having rarely starting, making most of his 50 appearances off the bench. Cavani did enjoy a fine debut season at the club, scoring 17 goals in 39 appearances. However, his age and injury woes have restricted him to just 17 games this campaign.

Telles' signing did bring out the best in Luke Shaw, who had his best season with Manchester United last year. However, the club has gone backwards, having been touted as potential title challengers after landing Raphael Varane, Jadon Sancho and Ronaldo.

There will be a huge need for focus in the upcoming window with so many issues in the squad to deal with. The worrying part is that Manchester United are yet to appoint a new manager ahead of the summer but are nonetheless already being linked with players.

Ajax head coach Erik ten Hag is the favourite for the role, but that has not been confirmed yet. If he is the man to take over, how much say would he have in any current planning that is going on with regard to reinforcements remains to be seen.