Manchester United appear to be leading rivals Manchester City in the race to sign Arsenal captain Robin van Persie.
City, United, and Italian champions Juventus are all believed to have tabled bids for Van Persie last week after he announced he had no plans to sign a new contract at Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal are refusing to let Van Persie leave without their valuation - thought to be close to £25million - being met, but are keen for the saga to be resolved before the new Premier League season kicks off on August 18th.
It had been widely reported earlier this month that City were prepared to break the bank to sign the 28-year-old, but in recent days it has emerged that manager Roberto Mancini is at odds with football administrator Brian Marwood over the club's transfer policy.
And according to the Sunday Mirror, Marwood is set to jeopardise the club’s bid to sign Van Persie by refusing to make him their highest-paid player.
And with Juventus this past week cooling their interest in the Netherlands international, a move to Old Trafford is slowly becoming more likely.
According to widespread newspaper reports on Sunday morning, Van Persie - who it is believed would prefer a move to Juventus to avoid damaging his reputation with Arsenal fans - is interested in joining United providing he is given the same wages as top earner Wayne Rooney.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed his interest in the Dutchman, but whether the club are ready to offer him a deal in the region of £200-000-a-week remains to be seen.
According to Sunday's report, Mancini had assumed City would offer a salary close to the £225,000-a-week that highest-paid player Yaya Toure earns, but Marwood is said to be unwilling to offer more than £150,000.
And it is believed any deal for Van Persie is unable to happen until Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz are off the books.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is expected to hold another round of talks with Van Persie in the coming days.
The Gunners are thought to have offered Van Persie a £130,000-a-week deal in addition to a £5million signing-on fee, with Wenger still hopeful his skipper will perform a U-turn.
AC Milan, Barcelona, and Real Madrid have also shown interest in Van Persie in recent weeks.