Manchester United are losing ground in the race to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho.

Reports in Portugal suggest Manchester United's arch-rivals Liverpool have moved ahead of the Red Devils in the pecking order to sign Carvalho.

The British media were adamant Manchester United had agreed a deal with their Portuguese counterparts to sign the 22-year-old in the summer.

However Sporting Lisbon refuted such claims and revealed how they were confident of keeping the box-to-box midfielder for at least one more season.

Liverpool believe they may be able to convince the £30million-rated midfielder to move over to England.

Brendan Rodgers is hoping to add to his squad as quickly as possible in order to beat off competition from his rivals.

Liverpool have already launched a bid for Southampton's Adam Lallana and have their sights firmly set on the likes of Yevhen Konoplyanka and Micah Richards.

News of Liverpool's interest may result in Manchester United launching a bid for Carvalho as they are also trying to get the majority of their transfer business done before the World Cup - as seen with their pursuit of Luke Shaw.

Source: GiveMeSport.com