Manchester United’s England U20 midfielder Ben Pearson is joining Preston for £100,000.

Pearson, 21, has been at Old Trafford since he was nine, but has not played a senior game for United and spent the last 12 months at Barnsley on loan.

Preston manager Simon Grayson has also asked to take Nick Powell on loan from United but faces competition from Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Brighton.

Manchester United midfielder Ben Pearson (right) will sign for Preston North End for a cut-price £100,000

Preston are also interested in Nick Powell (right) but face competition from rival Championship clubs

Meanwhile, manager Louis van Gaal is prepared to dip into the January transfer market if he identifies a player who will improve his United squad.

Van Gaal has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks following a run of one win in nine matches.

The United manager has been linked with a number of players, including Gareth Bale, Sadio Mane and Felipe Anderson of late after he admitted the lack of goals within his team is a concern.

Louis van Gaal would welcome new signings in January, despite admitting it's not the best time to buy

Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale is one of several players Manchester United are keen to sign

'January brings the opening of the transfer window and, as I have already seen, we have been linked to a host of players,' the United manager wrote in the matchday programme..

'I don't see January as the ideal time to do business as the players cannot then have the pre-season that I feel they need to be integrated into the squad, both on and off the pitch.