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Manchester United have refused to meet Juventus' asking price for Brazil international Alex Sandro.

Although the English Premier League club remains interested in the left-sided defender, United are not prepared to pay a transfer fee of €60million for a player Juve have informally placed on the market.

Alex Sandro has just two years remaining on the contract he signed upon joining from FC Porto for a fee of €26m in August 2015.

At Massimiliano Allegri's request, Juve are in the midst of an aggressive overhaul of their first-team squad and see the Brazilian as a source of funds for that manager-instigated rebuild.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

Left back has been a problem position for Jose Mourinho since his arrival at Old Trafford with Luke Shaw spurning multiple opportunities to hold down the role, allowing 32-year-old converted winger Ashley Young to establish himself as the regular starter last season. United have been pursuing Alex Sandro since before Christmas; the 27-year-old pushing Juve to grant a move to the Premier League.

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The South American's frustration at being priced out of transfers in each of the last two windows was reflected in a sub-standard Serie A campaign. As a result, Brazil selected Marcelo and Filipe Luis ahead of him for their World Cup squad, while Mourinho is understood to have revised his valuation of the player for a window in which United's transfer budget must be spread across defence, midfield and attack.

On Mourinho's instructions, United have already put a deal in place to bring Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk for an initial €55m transfer fee. Teenage Portugal under-21 international Diogo Dalot has joined from FC Porto for €22m to strengthen the right side of the defence. "Diogo is an extremely talented young defender with all the qualities to quickly become a great player for this club," Mourinho said last week.

(Image: Getty)

“He has all the attributes that a full back needs: Physicality, tactical intelligence and technical quality, combined with a Porto academy mentality which prepares players for the maturity they need at the professional level.”

United's current stance on Alex Sandro places pressure on Juventus to moderate their transfer demands, or to turn chief executive's Beppe Marotta's recent public noises about a contract extension into reality. While the English club also hold a long standing interest in Kieran Tierney, the Scotland international does not want to leave Celtic this summer.