Manchester United are racing against the clock to sign Luke Shaw, heartened that the Southampton full-back has made them his No1 choice but conscious that once England leave their World Cup training camp in the US on Sunday week there will be little chance of buying him until after the tournament.

Southampton’s state of flux, with the team managerless, is proving a sizeable obstacle to United pushing through the transfer for the 18-year-old. Les Reed, their director of football, is having to deal with the impending sale of Rickie Lambert to Liverpool for £4.5m while also determining the futures of a number of others including Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez and Dejan Lovren.

Having considered his options over the past week, Shaw is intent on signing for United, though with the deal in the balance there is no guarantee that Old Trafford is where he will start next season. The left-back has accepted the possibility that his future may not be determined until after the World Cup. England fly to their Miami camp following Friday evening’s first warm-up game, the meeting with Peru at Wembley.

Their camp in Florida ends on Saturday week, after the friendly against Honduras. Any deal for Shaw could still be sealed before then though there is recognition on all sides that the preference for players is to focus solely on the competition.

Southampton value Shaw at £30m while United have made a bid of £27m, offering him around £100,000 a week. Chelsea are resistant to meeting the £30m price and, it is understood, would propose paying the defender a weekly wage in the region of £60,000.