Liverpool made "official proposal" that "tempted" €53M player but Manchester United could now sign him

Liverpool reportedly tempted Matheus Cunha with an official proposal in January but the Brazilian now looks like he could join Manchester United instead.

Luis Diaz joined the Reds in the winter window for £36M - an absolute bargain and another great demonstration of the club's incredible transfer tactics.

However, a report from AS followed that move with suggestions that Liverpool also wanted to sign Matheus Cunha.

At the time, it wasn't yet widely known that Sadio Mane wanted to leave for a new challenge but in-house, the club would have known about the player's intentions.

Cunha may have been looked at as a replacement for the iconic Senegalese before Darwin Nunez ultimately joined for a club-record fee of £85M.

AS claimed that the Reds submitted an "official proposal" that "tempted" the player which comes as no surprise.

Jurgen Klopp has turned Anfield into one of the most attractive destinations in Europe once again.

Now, Manchester United are reportedly preparing a bid worth €53M (£45m) in what the Daily Mail labels a "desperate search" to breathe life into Erik ten Hag's attack.

Liverpool have had an awful start to the Premier League season, drawing both of their opening games and failing to lead for even a single minute over 180 minutes of football against Fulham and Crystal Palace.

United, however, have made things look a little less bleak from an Anfield persuasion as they have lost both of their opening games this season, scoring just once and being outplayed by both Brighton and Brentford.

The narrative has therefore been written quite nicely as Liverpool head to Old Trafford to take on their biggest rivals and fight for the first win of the season between the two.

I'm expecting a feisty affair given the frustrations in both sets of fans at the way the season has started.

As much as United are struggling for identity and form, the playing fields are levelled somewhat given Liverpool's injury issues.