Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Pedro and Angel Di Maria Rumours

Barcelona are still awaiting an offer from Manchester United for versatile forward Pedro Rodriguez, a player who could replace Angel Di Maria at Old Trafford.

Moises Llorens of AS reported the Red Devils are yet to launch a "formal proposal" for Pedro's signature, but Barca are in "no hurry to negotiate" because the Spaniard remains a "vital player."

However, Spanish publication Sport remains confident the 28-year-old will join Louis van Gaal's side, tweeted by Sport Witness:

Mark Ogden of the Telegraph believes Pedro "has told friends that he is set to move to Old Trafford and an outline agreement is already in place," although Van Gaal will wait until Di Maria joins Paris Saint-Germain before concluding the deal.

Pedro's buyout clause is still set at €150 million, according to Llorens, who noted the Blaugrana will "study" a €30 million offer. The player could remain in Catalonia until after the European Super Cup fixture against Sevilla on Aug. 11, according to the aforementioned report.

United's potential bid for Pedro could coincide with Di Maria leaving the club. John Cross of the Mirror expects the Argentinian to complete a medical with Paris Saint-Germain by Monday before being unveiled next week. Cross indicated Di Maria will fly to the French capital this weekend, having already agreed a four-year deal with the option of an extra 12 months worth £200,000 per week.

Jon Super/Associated Press

Van Gaal must ensure his squad is equipped with a plethora of attacking options heading into the new season. Last year, United's combination of Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao saw the front line continually struggle to break beyond the opposition's defence.

A lack of pace made much of United's attacking play rigid and easy to break down, with Di Maria remaining the side's only explosive outlet in the final third. The addition of Memphis Depay should see plenty of incisive forward runs being made when competitive football restarts, but signing Pedro will also improve United's movement.

B/R UK's Andy Brassell recently discussed whether the World Cup-winning Spaniard can be considered a smart replacement for Di Maria:

Van Gaal will still be lacking a traditional striker to compete with Rooney even if Pedro arrives. Youngster James Wilson isn't ready to contribute the amount of goals needed to make United title contenders. At this point, it seems if Rooney hits a poor patch of form the boss will have no proven option to pick up the slack.

The manager is optimistic Adnan Januzaj can be successful in a striker's position after scoring during United's 3-1 pre-season win over Barca, per Ogden: "I have given him a chance in this position and you have to look if he can do that or not," said Van Gaal. "But he has a lot of quality and against Barcelona (in Santa Clara on Saturday) he showed it for the first time."

Even so, it's risky to enter the Premier League curtain-raiser against Tottenham Hotspur without a world-class goalscorer to back Rooney up.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Much is expected of Van Gaal and his United team now the Dutchman has deep-rooted the squad to make it his own. A second top-quality striker could be pivotal to United's season, especially now the side are competing over four fronts.