Manchester United are believed to have made a late enquiry for Everton forward Anthony Gordon, with the Englishman also attracting in interest from Chelsea of late.

What's the word?

As per The Athletic - in David Ornstein's Monday column - the Red Devils made a 'late check' on the 21-year-old's availability before pressing on with their pursuit of Ajax winger, Antony, having since agreed a €100m (£85m) fee for the Brazil international.

The Toffees man has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge throughout the window, with the Blues believed to have been willing to pay as much as £60m in order to prise him from west London.

This report suggests that interest could well have cooled, with the youngster looking likely to remain on Merseyside beyond the September deadline.

Dodged a bullet

The reaction of journalist Rhys Jones to that eye-catching news will no doubt be a view shared by most of a United persuasion, as he stated that the club had "dodged a bullet" by not making a concrete approach for Gordon in the latter stages of the window.

Although an exciting prospect, the £10k-per-week man's form to date has seemingly not warranted such intense interest from the Premier League's elite clubs, with it something of a headscratcher as to the size of the fees that have been mentioned.

While the £18m-rated ace netted his first league goal of the season in the draw with Brentford at the weekend, that effort was in fact just his fifth league goal in his top-flight career to date, having also chipped in with just three assists in that time.

With only 53 league outings in the top tier to his name, it somewhat beggars belief as to why he has been linked with such high-profile moves, with the Liverpool-born winger yet to truly prove himself on a consistent basis.

There may be potential doubts over the hefty fee that is set to be paid for the aforementioned Antony, although the 22-year-old will arrive with far greater senior experience under his belt, having recorded 46 goal involvements in just 82 games in all competitions during his time in Holland.

Equally, the former Sao Paolo star also offers the added benefit of having worked under manager Erik ten Hag in Amsterdam, with the player having seemingly been desperate to spark a reunion with the 52-year-old this summer.

Had the Old Trafford outfit turned to Gordon as an alternative for the nine-cap gem there would no doubt have been uproar among supporters, with it unwise to splash the cash on a player whose Premier League record is only marginally better than that of Anthony Elanga (three goals and three assists), albeit with the Sweden international making just 27 appearances.

As Jones alluded, United may have well and truly dodged a bullet.