Manchester United have already opened talks to sign Monaco attacker Bernardo Silva and hold the priority on any potential sale, SportWitness quote Le 10 Sport as reporting.

What's the word?

Manchester United's pursuit of Monaco ace Bernardo Silva could be seen as a battle for Jose Mourinho's side, as Le 10 Sport have reported that Barcelona and Real Madrid are chasing the Portuguese ace recently, but it seems the Premier League side hold an important advantage.

Per the most recent reports cited by SportWitness, Manchester United have already opened talks for Bernardo Silva, negotiating a priority on a deal until a specific date, and the possibility of a first refusal option has not been ruled-out.

If the latter was negotiated, the French principality side would have to notify Manchester United about any bid they had accepted, with the Red Devils then having the opportunity to match the offer with an approach of their own.

Bernardo Silva is likely to move on this summer, giving Monaco a profit on the £13.4m they paid Benfica for the player, and any deal is likely to be expensive.

Is he needed?

A player boasting five goals and five assists in 23 Ligue 1 appearances this season is certainly likely to attract interest from Manchester United but, looking at their current squad and their reported summer targets, a swoop for Bernardo Silva shouldn't be a priority.

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder would join a United squad that already boast the likes of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Anthony Martial, all of whom could play in his position. Of those four players, three have been signed in the past two-years.

Speculation on Martial's future at the club continues to persist, as he's regularly been overlooked by Jose Mourinho this season, but the worry for Bernardo Silva, and any young player, is that they could follow the path of Memphis Depay and, possibly, Martial.

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