Manchester United are in advanced talks for Benfica winger Nicolas Gaitan. The Sunday Telegraph says United are close to securing a £29.3million deal to sign Gaitán at the end of the season, with Benfica understood to have struck an informal agreement with the Premier League champions over the sale of the Argentina international.

United's European scouting team has monitored the 23-year-old's performances in recent months, with the player under detailed scrutiny during last month's games against Naval and Sporting Lisbon, and the club moved to head off growing interest in Gaitán from Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain by opening negotiations with Benfica in late November.

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is prepared to wait until the summer for Gaitán, however, confident that his squad remains strong enough to compete for the title.