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Man Utd transfer news: Everton 'know United have a problem' in transfer market
EVERTON know Manchester United have run into problems over signing Alex Sandro - and it now affecting their business.
Alex Sandro to Man Utd: Pilib De Brún discusses
That's according to transfer expert Duncan Castles, who understands Sandro has already agreed a contract at United.
But while the left-back, 27, may have given the green light on a deal, a fee between United and Juventus has still not been agreed.
And that, Castles says, is where Everton come into the equation.
The Toffees are hunting Celtic left-back Kieran Tierney but fear United will try and gatecrash a move if the Sandro deal falls through.
There's a lot of demand for left-backs, because there aren't many good ones around
"They know Manchester United have been scouting him for a long time and their admiration for Tierney has only grown," Castles told the Transfer Window podcast.
"They're not sure United will bid, they know United have a problem getting Alex Sandro from Juventus, the No.1 choice, because his club are pricing him at €60m.
"They may also be aware that Juventus have been watching Kieran Tierney themselves for some time and considering Tierney as a replacement should they get the fee they want for Alex Sandro.
"There's a lot of demand for left-backs, because there aren't many good ones around."
Celtic and Everton have held talks for the Scotland international, who is valued at £30million. It's a fee the Toffees believe is too high.
"When Everton opened discussions with Celtic for Tierney, Celtic asked for £30m," Castles explained.
"Not only did they want £30m, which Everton thought was extremely high for a player coming down from the Scottish Premier League, they weren't prepared to compromise on the staging of the payments.
"Everton have pulled out and moved onto other targets at left-back - there have been discussions with Barcelona for their French left-back Lucas Digne.
"I can understand why Celtic are pricing Tierney so high.
"Not only because of his importance to the team, and how difficult it's going to be from a public relations perspective to the Celtic fans, but because they know bigger clubs than Everton are interested."