Lyons’ Dembélé is regarded as one of Europe’s most talented forwards

Manchester United have received encouragement in their pursuit of Moussa Dembélé after Lyons admitted they could sell a number of their players.

United are expected to recruit up to four players in the summer, having fallen six points behind Chelsea in the race for a top-four finish. The most pressing concern for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is his team’s lack of firepower. Dembélé, 23, has attracted the attention of United and Chelsea after scoring 15 goals this season and is said to be valued at about £60 million.

Jean-Michel Aulas, the Lyons president, said: “We sell the players who want to leave to where they want to go.”

Dembélé has performed consistently since he joined Lyons in the summer of 2018, scoring 39 times in 81