Manchester United Transfer News: Latest on Marco Verratti and Fabinho Rumours

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly made contact with Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti regarding a possible transfer.

According to Rob Pollard of the Manchester Evening News, who cited a report from Emilie Bonnaud of radio station Europe 1, "Mourinho is in regular contact with the Italian and has messaged him on numerous occasions to convince him to move."

The news comes amid a report from Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (h/t Pollard), which linked United with a £79 million bid for the midfielder, who would reportedly be offered a £6.7 million-per-year deal.

Verratti is a cool and composed presence in midfield, known for his impeccable distribution and ability to dictate the tempo of matches from the centre.

Injuries restricted him to just 18 Ligue 1 appearances last season. According to Squawka, he was still able to win 24 tackles, make 26 interceptions and complete 21 of 25 attempted take-ons. He also created 20 chances and maintained a passing accuracy of 93 per cent.

The Italian is not content to simply pass the ball sideways, however, as WhoScored.com revealed:

Per French football writer Mohammed Ali, the 23-year-old was named in Ligue 1's team of the season despite featuring for less than half of the campaign:

Here are some of his best moments:

Verratti is a classy performer with a great future ahead of him, so it's little surprise Mourinho is hoping to recruit him for his new United side.

PSG will be highly reluctant to part with him, though, particularly after seeing fellow star player Zlatan Ibrahimovic leave on a free transfer, so it may take the kind of outlandish bid reported for a deal to come to fruition.

Meanwhile, according to David Amoyal of GianlucaDiMarzio.com, the Red Devils and Barcelona are "taking action to acquire" AS Monaco full-back Fabinho, whom Napoli are also interested in.

JEAN CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/Getty Images

The right-back—who can also play as a holding midfielder—had a fine season, bagging eight goals and five assists in all competitions. As OptaJean revealed, the Brazilian is an expert penalty-taker:

In Ligue 1, the all-action defender won 89 tackles, 62 headed duels and 76 interceptions, and he created 25 chances, according to Squawka.

An effective contributor at both ends of the field, the 22-year-old is going from strength to strength and looks set to improve; he could make an excellent acquisition for Mourinho.