Manchester United plotting moves for Robert Lewandowski and Thiago Alcantara

The Premier League transfer window closes on August 9, so Premier League clubs only have just over three weeks left to complete their business.

Manchester United have only signed three players so far - Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant - but have yet to land a marquee signing. That could be about to change, however. The club will reportedly make moves for Robert Lewandowski and Thiago Alcantara, two Bayern Munich players. Lewandowski has been linked with a move away from the German champions this summer, and Thiago has reportedly asked Bayern to allow him to rejoin Barcelona. According to Miguel Delaney, writing in The Independent, both players are targets for United this summer as Jose Mourinho seeks to improve his squad and challenge Manchester City next season. According to the report:

• Bayern would be open to selling both players.
• United are interested and have the money to pull off the transfers.
• Mourinho is a long-term fan of Lewandowski. Chelsea and Real Madrid are also said to be interested in the Polish striker who turns 30 next month.
• Thiago is understood to be aiming for a move back to Barcelona but could be open to a move to United. The 27-year-old almost joined the club in 2013, only to sign for Bayern after Pep Guardiola convinced him to move to the Bavarian side.

The report also claims that negotiations for the transfer of Toby Alderweireld from Tottenham ended weeks ago, but there is a chance the move could still happen before the window closes. United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward still wants to sign Gareth Bale, but he looks set to remain at Real Madrid after Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus. David Moyes attempted to sign Thiago during his brief, doomed tenure at Old Trafford. In his second autobiography, Alex Ferguson spoke about scouting Lewandowski in 2012, when the Polish forward was playing for Jurgen Klopp's Borussia Dortmund. "That summer the Glazers were perfectly happy to go for Van Persie or Robert Lewandowski and (Shinji) Kagawa," Ferguson said.

"In many of our greatest phases, we could call on four fantastic strikers. Making sure they all felt valued could be problematic. It required a range of diplomatic skills. Dortmund, however, refused to sell Lewandowski, who has a wonderful physique and has good lines of running."

Lewandowski joined Bayern on a free transfer in 2014 and has scored 151 goals in 195 games for the club.