Manchester United have approached Barcelona and Atletico Madrid over potential deals for Fermin Lopez and Pablo Barrios, according to reports in Spain.

United focused solely on strengthening Michael Carrick’s midfield options in the summer transfer window and spent £155 million on signing Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba.

However, Marca report that United remain in the market for another central midfielder.

Speaking on Marca’s La Pizarra de Quintana show, transfer expert Matteo Moretto revealed United’s approaches to Barcelona and Atletico for their midfielders.

‘There’s a Premier League club, Manchester United, that has a lot of things to sort out and is looking for a midfielder with the characteristics of Barrios and Fermin. They’ve inquired about both of them, there’s no negotiation, just an enquiry,’ Moretto said.

However, United are expected to come up short in their pursuit of Fermin and Barrios and will need to explore alternative options.

‘It’s very unlikely that both will leave,’ Moretto added.

‘Pablo Barrios is an indispensable player for Atletico and Fermin is key for Barca, but United are looking for those types of players. When they came to Madrid to play in the Champions League [against Atletico], they took the opportunity to have many meetings.’

Fermin has played a key role in Barcelona winning consecutive La Liga titles in the last two years.

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The 23-year-old was set to be a part of Spain’s World Cup campaign in the summer but was forced to miss the tournament due to a foot fracture.

Barrios, meanwhile, is an integral part of Diego Simeone’s midfield at Atletico Madrid and has also been linked with a move to Chelsea.

The 23-year-old delivered an impressive performance against United earlier this month as he scored the opener in Atletico’s 2-0 win in the Champions League.