South American starlets Dybala and Marquinhos on Man Utd radar

Manchester United, odds-on at 4/9 with Coral for a top four finish, are keen to snap up South American starlets Paulo Dybala and Marquinhos, in a bid to boost their Champions League ambitions for next season.

Italian club Palermo have reportedly rejected a recent bid from Louis van Gaal’s Red Devils for their 21-year-old Argentine striker Dybala, while United are also keen to secure the signature of PSG’s Brazilian centre-back Marquinhos.

However, United’s Dutch manager may have to wait until the summer to sign Palermo’s highly-rated forward, with the Italians hoping to keep their Argentina attacker for the remainder of this Serie A season.

Club president Maurizio Zamparini revealed that they are willing to negotiate in the next transfer window.

“Dybala is worth over £31m but I won’t sell him until June,” Zamparini said. “Many foreign clubs have asked after him, including Manchester United. I told the English side that he is not for sale right now, but we can talk about it again in six months.”

The Italian was full of praise for Van Gaal’s taleneted target, who signed from the Argentinian club Instituto for £9m in 2012, dubbing him “the new Sergio Aguero”.

“In my view, he is the best striker in Europe at the moment,” Zamparini continued.

Dybala has scored nine goals in 17 appearances this season for Palermo, who sit 10th in the Italian top-flight table.

His fellow South American Marquinhos has also been tipped for a move to Old Trafford, with the United boss making a central-defender his top priority in this transfer window.

PSG’s potent defender has struggled to break into Laurent Blanc’s starting line-up this term, with FIFA world team of the year centre-backs and fellow Brazilians, Thiago Silva and David Luiz, becoming the French champions’ regular starters.