Manchester United are set to rival Liverpool for a new centre-back in the January transfer window, a fresh report has claimed.
On Monday, it was reported that Lisandro Martinez had a second operation on his broken metatarsal after suffering a setback on his return from injury.
United revealed on Friday that Martinez will be out of action for up to three months due to a recurrence of a problem that ruled him out at the end of the last campaign.
The Argentina international initially suffered the injury in a Europa League tie against Sevilla in April and was at the time out for 11 weeks.
He returned for United's pre-season and opening four Premier League games before experiencing pain in the same foot during the club's defeat to Arsenal last month.
And Mail Sport have now claimed the Argentina defender has required further surgery on the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in a bid to cure the problem once and for all.
With Martinez set to be out for the foreseeable future, United are looking to sign a replacement.
As per the Sun, the club are gearing up for a January swoop for Sporting Lisbon central defender Goncalo Inacio.
The publication claimed a United scout had been sent to Lisbon and told to closely monitor the Portugal international over the next couple of months.
The scout has allegedly been ordered to watch the 22-year-old at least three times a month, having attended Sporting's weekend encounter against Farense. He will also reportedly be at Thursday's Europa League clash with Atalanta.
Inacio recently signed a new deal with Sporting but is said to have a €60million (£52m) release clause which United are allegedly prepared to match.
Inacio was linked to several Premier League clubs this summer, with it having been widely reported that Liverpool and Newcastle are among those interested in the centre-back.
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