Man Utd tried to sign £42m former Arsenal and Chelsea target on deadline day

Manchester United attempted to sign former Premier League midfielder Douglas Luiz in the final hours of transfer deadline day, according to reports.

Ruben Amorim was expected to bolster his squad at Old Trafford in January following a dismal start to his reign as manager.

Manchester United remain in the bottom-half of the Premier League under Amorim and Gary Neville is among those to claim the team have got even worse since the Portuguese replaced Erik ten Hag.

But United only brought in two new players during the January transfer window, Danish full-back Patrick Dorgu arriving in a £25m deal from Lecce and teenage defender Ayden Heaven joining from Arsenal.

Amorim even sanctioned the departure of two forwards – Marcus Rashford joining Aston Villa on loan and Antony moving to Real Betis – meaning his squad is arguably weaker than it was at the start of the winter window.

Manchester United were, however, at least pushing for signings towards the end of the transfer window and expressed interest in bringing Bayern Munich forward Mathys Tel to the club before he ultimately joined Premier League rivals Tottenham.

The Red Devils also made a last-ditch move for ex-Aston Villa midfielder Luiz, according to Italian outlet Tuttosport, but were knocked back by Juventus.

Luiz, who made 175 Premier League appearances for Villa, joined Juventus last summer in a deal worth £42m.

Juventus beat Arsenal to a deal for the Brazilian midfielder but were considering selling in January as he has struggled for game-time, starting just three Serie A games.

Chelsea had been eyeing a move for Luiz earlier in the window after Juventus indicated they could sell the 26-year-old.

Manchester United’s deadline-day approach was knocked back, however, as Juve were unwilling to sanction any more departures after sending Nicolo Fagioli out on loan to Fiorentina.

Luiz has also attracted interest from Manchester City during his frustrating spell in Turin but will spend at least a few more months at Juventus before possibly leaving in the summer.

While Manchester United fans may have been left underwhelmed by the lack of transfer activity in January, Amorim was at least delighted to bring in full-back Dorgu.

Speaking out following his arrival at Old Trafford, Dorgu said: ‘It feels amazing to be part of the family. I’m very excited to get going.

‘I have heard about the incredible support and I’m happy to be one of the players of United now.

‘It’s a huge club. It’s the biggest club in England and I’m really looking forward to working with Ruben and I feel the system suits me really well. So I’m excited to be here.’

United’s inconsistent form under Amorim continued on Sunday as Manchester United were beaten 2-0 at home to Crystal Palace.

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