Manchester United are understood to have had an offer of £50m rejected for Brighton forward Evan Ferguson during the summer transfer window.
Erik ten Hag made the signing of a centre-forward his focus for the summer window and the Red Devils were linked with a number of names before concluding a £72m agreement to sign Rasmus Hojland from Atalanta.
Harry Kane and Ferguson had also been linked with potential moves to Old Trafford and ESPN are reporting that United saw a £50m bid for the latter ‘laughed off by Brighton’.
The 18-year-old has emerged as one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League following his breakthrough at Brighton, with Ferguson having scored 10 top-flight goals since the start of last season.
Ferguson scored a hat-trick against Newcastle last month to become just the fourth player in Premier League history to score a treble in the division aged 18 or under, while he has scored twice in six appearances for the Republic of Ireland at international level.
A host of the Premier League’s top teams are monitoring his progress, but Brighton dismissed a big bid from Manchester United during the summer. The Seagulls sold more than £175m worth of talent during the summer window and are under no pressure to sell the Irish teenager.