Manchester United Transfer News: Latest Rumours on William Carvalho, Juan Mata

Manchester United look set to face fierce competition in their bid to sign Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho as Manchester City are reportedly planning a £60 million summer move for the midfielder. 

Tuttomercatoweb (via Charlie Phillippe in the Express) recently reported United were preparing a £27 million move for the highly rated Portugal international.

However, according to Neil Ashton and Dan King in The Sun, City manager Pep Guardiola is eager to add Carvalho to his squad "as his new midfield enforcer" and is prepared to meet Sporting's £60 million-plus valuation.

United will likely then need to look elsewhere for a new central midfielder in the summer or be prepared to double their potential bid for the 24-year-old Portuguese.

Carvalho has long been viewed as one of the brightest talents in Portugal and proved himself on the biggest stage last summer as he enjoyed an excellent UEFA Euro 2016 as part of Fernando Santos' triumphant squad, per WhoScored.com:

A phenomenal defensive midfielder who is superb at interrupting opposition attacks and winning possession in the middle of the park, Carvalho is also a brilliant distributor and can be devastating running with the ball.

While he has yet to prove himself at club level outside the Portuguese top flight he has all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.

Carvalho could be a fine addition to Jose Mourinho's United squad, particularly as the 35-year-old Michael Carrick is edging closer to retirement, per BBC Sport:

However, City could be a significant competitor in United's bid to snap him up if they are indeed prepared to splash out £60 million.

Meanwhile, Juan Mata is reportedly set to sign a new contract at Old Trafford, completing a remarkable turnaround given he was expected to leave the club when Mourinho was announced as manager.

Jan Kruger/Getty Images

Back in the summer it was widely reported that Mata would be cleared out of United by the Portuguese manager, per Andy Burton of Sky Sports. This is likely because he was previously sold by Mourinho when he was in charge at Chelsea.

However, Mata stayed put in Manchester and has played a key role in 2016-17, playing in 21 of 26 Premier League games so far in the campaign.

According to Paul Hetherington in the Daily Star, the 28-year-old Spaniard will now pen a season-long extension to his contract at Old Trafford, which runs to 2018.

Hetherington added that Mata is keen to commit himself further to the club he joined from Chelsea in January 2014 for £37.1 million.