Manchester United Transfer News: Daishawn Redan Signing Close, Latest Rumours

Manchester United are reportedly close to snapping up teenage Ajax sensation Daishawn Redan.

According to Squawka's Greg Stobart, the striker "turns 16 in January and is believed to have decided that he would like to join United," though he is reported to be on the radar of a number of elite European clubs, while the Dutch side want to keep him.

The youngster has made 23 appearances for the Netherlands at youth level—most recently for their under-17s—and has netted 18 goals.

Here's a look at the precocious talent:

The Red Devils were reportedly tipped off about Redan by former Ajax scout Henny De Regt, who now works in the English club's academy.

According to Stobart, the Manchester outfit have "been heavily scouting" in the Netherlands of late, recruiting Timothy Fosu-Mensah from Ajax two years ago and Tahith Chong from Feyenoord this summer.

If United are able to sign Redan, it's likely to be at least a year or two before he makes an appearance in the first team, but it could be quite a coup.

Meanwhile, Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho has indicated he will not dip into the transfer market in January for a new centre-back thanks to the resurgent form of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo.

Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Per the Daily Star's Colin Harvey, he said: "They are playing better than ever and now we have a third centre-half to rotate. With [Eric] Bailly we have a third central defender, and hopefully we can manage with those three until the end of the year."

Football writer Colin Millar and Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News hailed the duo's efforts after they helped United record a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday:

Squawka Football also shed some light on Jones' impressive outing:

Chris Smalling is also set to return from a broken toe—potentially by Christmas, according to the Mirror's David McDonnell—and Daley Blind can also cover at centre-back, so Mourinho might stick with his options despite Harvey's report that "Southampton's Virgil van Dijk was thought to be a key target" for January.

Football writer Liam Canning believes United should pursue Van Dijk, particularly with Bailly soon set to be absent:

Indeed, not only is the Dutchman an outstanding centre-back who would be an upgrade on all of United's defenders—with the possible exception of Bailly—but failing to add to their options would be a hefty gamble even with Jones and Rojo in good form.

The former's fitness has become increasingly unreliable in recent years—since 2012, he's missed 96 games due to injury, according to Transfermarkt—and the latter has been unconvincing over the course of his United career until the last month or so.

If the pair remain fit and on form then they, Smalling and Blind should be enough to keep the Red Devils ticking over until Bailly's return from the Africa Cup of Nations and potentially to the end of the season, but there's no guarantee they'll be able to keep it up.

Further, United harbour ambitions of challenging for the Premier League title each year—something they already look to have missed out on this season—as well as returning to the UEFA Champions League regularly, so from a long-term perspective, it's clear they need to add further quality in defence.