Ed Woodward snubs travelling to pre-season for the first time as he looks to secure more signings

Bengaluru, July 25: Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward has not travelled to China for the final leg of the Red Devils' pre-season tour of the Far East as the club reportedly bids to secure more signings before the close of the window in just over two weeks.

The Red Devils CEO has been present on each of United's pre-season tours since becoming executive vice-chairman back in 2013. But now has opted against flying out to Shanghai, where United take on Tottenham.

United have already signed winger Daniel James for £15million from Swansea and full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka for £50m from Crystal Palace but the struggling giants reportedly still want to get at least two more signings over the line. Woodward will work alongside head of corporate development Matt Judge - who has assisted him in the transfer window since 2016 - in getting the deals over the line.

United have been working on a deal to sign Leicester defender Maguire, however his high asking fee of £90m is said to be the main stumbling block. Leicester have reportedly turned down two bids from United, latest is rumoured to be £70m as the Foxes stands firm clear on their demand.

Another target for United is believed to be Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes but similarly, the English side have found the Portuguese club difficult to deal with.

Lisbon want £70m for the midfielder but United apparently do not rate the player for such fee and could look for a new name in the market, with Milinkovic Savic tipped as another backup option of him.

United have also been linked with Lille forward Nicolas Pepe but it is understood that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer isn't prioritising signing a striker.

Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff is another player who has attracted interest but the 21-year-old is valued at around £50m, around double what United are thought to be willing to pay.

The United hierarchy believes they are being held to ransom by clubs deliberately as they feel clubs are putting an extra £10m-20m on a player's valuation when they come calling.

However, they have not given up on their preferred targets and Woodward wish to find a solution to at least provide two new signings for his new manager.