Manchester United Transfer News: Alexandre Pato Makes Offer Claim, Fresh Rumours

Sao Paulo forward Alexandre Pato has revealed that Manchester United made a last-minute bid to buy him at the end of the recent summer transfer window.   

The former AC Milan player—currently on loan at Brazil's Sao Paulo from Corinthians—said he did not find out about the bid until after the window closed, per Brazilian outlet SporTV (h/t Metro's George Bellshaw): "I won’t lie: two hours before the deadline I had a really good offer from Manchester United. I was expecting it, but actually only found out about it afterwards."

The 26-year-old was also heavily linked with a potential £7 million move to Premier League club Sunderland in the summer, per Jack Lang of the Daily Mirror.

Pato moved to Corinthians in 2013 following a disappointing spell with Milan, during which he was plagued by injury.

During his time at Sao Paulo, he has rediscovered some of his best form which has reignited rumours of a return to European football.

He is a supremely talented forward who can score heavily when on form. Though signing Pato would have been a risk given his past fitness worries, it is not a huge surprise that United went in for him as they were looking for a goalscorer.

They eventually signed 19-year-old striker Anthony Martial from Monaco, and the £36 million man has made a surprisingly excellent start to his Old Trafford career, per Bleacher Report's Sam Tighe:

However, Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal is still short in the forward department, and it will be interesting to see whether United renew their interest in Pato in January.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are reportedly eyeing a move for out-of-favour United goalkeeper Victor Valdes as a backup for Asmir Begovic.

The Blues are currently without No. 1 Thibaut Courtois through injury, and manager Jose Mourinho is looking to bring in Valdes to deputise for Begovic, as Chelsea lack real depth in the goalkeeping department and will be in serious trouble if the Bosnian also becomes unavailable, per the MailOnline's Sami Mokbel.

However, United would be ill advised to let Valdes move to Stamford Bridge—even on a loan deal.

While the former Barcelona man is currently behind David De Gea and Sergio Romero in the pecking order at United, it would be unwise of the Red Devils to help out Premier League rivals Chelsea by allowing them to sign him.