Manchester United have had a €25m (£22.4m) bid for Monaco centre-back Benoit Badiashile rejected, claims RMC Sport.
Monaco manager Niko Kovac has told the French club Badiashile is an integral part of the club's future and only to sell the teenager if an offer is too good to turn down.
It leaves United facing the prospect of putting together a similarly spectacular proposal that saw them sign Anthony Martial from Monaco in 2015.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wanted to sign a new centre-back even before club captain Harry Maguire was found guilty for assault and attempted bribery in Greece on Tuesday.
United showed late interest in 22-year-old Lille defender Gabriel but the Brazilian has accepted Arsenal's proposal.
📈 Of the top 10 rated players from gameweek one in Ligue 1, four are aged 20 or under
— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) August 26, 2020
📝 Remember the names...
Kevin Denkey (18 - @nimesolympique) - 8.60
El Bilal Toure (19 - @StadeDeReims) - 8.41
Amine Gouiri (20 - @ogcnice) - 8.13
Benoit Badiashile (19 - @AS_Monaco) - 7.77 pic.twitter.com/PFzDmDgmIh
The Red Devils have now turned to Badiashile but also risk missing out on the teenager unless they submit a substantially better offer.
Badiashile, 19, has already racked up 37 appearances in Ligue 1 since breaking into the Monaco first-team during the 2018/19 campaign.
The France Under-19 international scored in Monaco's opening game of the 2020/21 campaign, posting the 10th best WhoScored rating in gameweek 1.
