Manchester United dealt with huge transfer blow after Athletic Bilbao defender Aymeric Laporte has agreed to join Barcelona in a £35 million deal next summer, according to reports from the Mirror.

The French under-21 international was constantly linked with a move to the Premier League giants Manchester United and have been drawing interest from a host of European elites.

He is regarded as one of the finest young prospects at the moment as the Red Devils manager Louis van Gaal is desperate to reinforce his backline.

The Dutch manager missed out on Sergio Ramos early this summer and now, he could fail in their pursuit of Laporte, who is poised to join European champions at the end of the current campaign.

Barcelona are currently under a transfer embargo and will be able to sign players again in January, when their transfer ban gets lifted, but the La Liga champions are considering to make a move for him next summer.