Manchester United travel to face Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Carrick’s side secured their place in next season’s Champions League with a 3-2 win over rivals Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday, with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo netting the winner.
While the Red Devils are guaranteed a place in the top five, a decision has not yet been made on the future of Carrick, who is currently the club’s caretaker head coach.
Ahead of their trip to The Stadium of Light, though, it has emerged that United are in the race to sign a Japanese midfielder from the Dutch top flight.
As per TEAMtalk, Manchester United have entered into the running to sign midfielder Kodai Sano from Eredivisie side NEC Nijmegen.
The report claims that the 22-year-old is on the radar of several clubs and is viewed as a player with huge potential.
Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Hove Albion, and Crystal Palace all explored a possible move for the Japan international in January, and the report claims that the three sides remain interested.
Sano has enjoyed a fine debut season with NEC (Photo: Sipa US/Alamy)
Man United are also interested in players from each of those clubs, namely Elliot Anderson, Carlos Baleba, and Adam Wharton respectively.
Sano joined NEC from Japanese outfit Fagiano Okayama last summer and is enjoying a fine debut campaign in Europe.
The attacking midfielder has so far scored three goals and provided seven goals in 32 league games for NEC, who currently sit third in the Eredivisie standings and could still qualify for the Champions League.
The report suggests that Man United could face a tough battle to sign the player if they do realise their interest, with several sides from across Europe said to be monitoring the Japanese midfielder.
Sano made his senior international debut during a 6-0 win over Malaysia in World Cup qualifying last year, and the midfielder will hope to be included in his country’s squad for the tournament this summer.