Brighton are prepared to loan out striker Evan Ferguson in January with the highly-rated striker struggling for game time at the Amex.
The 20-year-old initially made his first team breakthrough on the south coast under Graham Potter and continued his development under Roberto De Zerbi last season.
Injuries have played a part in his progress stalling under Fabian Hurzeler this term and he has been restricted to just a solitary Premier League start under the German.
With the likes of Danny Welbeck, Georginio Rutter and Joao Pedro currently ahead of him in the pecking order, Ferguson’s chances of forcing his way back into the starting XI before the January window opens appear remote.
Ferguson has already been linked with moves to the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea and although Brighton value the Ireland international at £60 million, they are not willing to countenance a permanent sale at this stage.
Instead, according to The Telegraph, a temporary switch is on the cards with the likes of Crystal Palace, Fulham, West Ham and Newcastle likely to be interested.
United, meanwhile, for their part, are likely to keep their powder dry until the summer, despite the reservations they hold over summer signing Jonathan Zirkzee.
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The Netherlands international has underwhelmed since his move from Bologna and reports claim he could be sent back to Italy little more than six months after he joined the club.
Zirkzee was handed a chance to impress as a second half substitute on Sunday as Ruben Amorim took charge of United for the first time.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old failed to grasp his opportunity in a more withdrawn role behind Rasmus Hojlund and was singled out for criticism by his new manager.
‘I think that [decision-making] is a concern, you don’t need to coach them at this level,’ Amorim told Sky Sports.
‘You have to keep the ball and know the momentum to put the ball in front. Sometimes you feel that you can’t keep the ball and you [have to] put the ball in front.
‘Then you have like we are in the end of the game, we were around the box with two strikers. Josh [Zirkzee] has to understand that he has to go to the box to have the crosses.
‘So we are doing some things that were not at the right moment, so that is something we have to address.
‘Sometimes people talk about the 3-4-3, that is not the concern, the system is the system but the understanding of the game is what we have to improve a lot in this area.’