Manchester United winning transfer race ahead of Bayern Munich and Barcelona for Bayern Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong

Manchester United have edged ahead of Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the race to snap up Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong.

Erik ten Hag has been desperate to bring the right-back to Old Trafford since last summer, but had other priorities in the transfer window.

Instead, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro arrived in a busy first summer for the Dutchman, but he is not done building his squad yet.

Frimpong has become one of the most highly sought-after full-backs in world football after another impressive campaign with Leverkusen.

In his third year in the Bundesliga, he has solidified himself as the first-choice wing-back under Xabi Alonso.

And his form has alerted the likes of Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who are both looking to sign a right-back in the summer.

Bayern loaned Joao Cancelo in January, but a permanent move does not appear feasible at the moment, while centre-backs Jules Kounde and Ronald Araujo have regularly filled in on the right side of defence at the Nou Camp.

However, according to BILD, it is United that are ahead of the European giants in the race for Frimpong’s signature.

Ten Hag has been interested in the 22-year-old for a number of months and the groundwork already laid has given them an advantage over their rivals.

Bayern have contacted the Dutchman’s camp, but Frimpong is reportedly in love with the city of Manchester.

The defender started his career at Manchester City, where he came up through their academy.

He left for Celtic in 2019 where he became a firm fan favourite with his searing pace and his development has only continued in Germany.

Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes has already spoken out on the youngster’s future.

He said: “First of all, he still has a contract with us until 2025, that’s a good situation.

“For Jeremie, applies what applies to all our young players: none of them have fully developed their potential yet.

“We are then required to develop them. And Jeremie is a good example of that. He was already that fast.

“But he has improved enormously over the past two and a half years with the ball, how he deploys his team-mates and how he prepares goals.”