Manchester United have backed away from a move for Christian Eriksen.

United had been exploring the possibility of an audacious late swoop for the Tottenham Hotspur playmaker before the close of the window but have concluded he would prefer to move abroad to Spain.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is a keen admirer of Eriksen but United have called a halt to talks in the belief he has his sights set elsewhere and wants a lifestyle change and, much like the situation with Paulo Dybala, the Manchester club only want to recruit players who are determined to move to Old Trafford.

United pulled the plug over the weekend on a potential swap deal with Juventus that would have seen Dybala move to Manchester and Romelu Lukaku head to Turin amid reservations about the Argentina striker’s desire to join plus his huge wage demands, image rights complications and exorbitant agents’ fees in excess of £13 million.

United are still open to signing a player if the right one is available but Solskjaer is said to be comfortable with his squad and recognises that the rebuilding process was not going to be conducted in one summer. Yet the prospect of no more arrivals before Thursday’s 5pm deadline will frustrate and worry fans who believe key areas of the team, including midfield, still need strengthening.

Eriksen had been initially talked about as a potential replacement for Paul Pogba in the event the France midfielder left Old Trafford this summer. Pogba had declared in June that he wanted to pursue a new challenge elsewhere as he eyed a move to Real Madrid but the player feared quite quickly that he might be priced out of a move.

Solskjaer has been eager to keep Pogba, confident he can get him back on side and that the Frenchman will be highly influential on the pitch this season. And United’s suspicions that Real did not have the funds to meet their £160m-plus valuation after a big summer spending spree were borne out last week when they rejected a derisory £27.6m cash bid plus James Rodriguez for Pogba.

Eriksen has told Spurs he wants to leave and the club are reluctant to lose a valuable asset for nothing when his contract expires at the end of this season. But with United out of the running, Tottenham face the prospect of having to accept a cut-price deal for the Dane. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, as well as Juventus, are all interested in Eriksen but may try to sign him for less than £50m.

Tottenham have been working hard to try to secure a deal for Giovani Lo Celso, the Real Betis midfielder, and have also had talks over Sporting Lisbon’s Bruno Fernandes. Barcelona forward Philippe Coutinho is available on a season-long loan and Tottenham have an interest in the £65m-rated Dybala but that deal is very complex, not least over the player’s image rights, and also very costly.