Martinez pictured at "farewell dinner" ahead of Man Utd transfer

Lisandro Martinez has been pictured at a "farewell dinner" with his personal chef - as the Ajax star edges closer to a dream switch to Manchester United.

United have been chasing a deal for the versatile defender all summer without success, with Ajax reluctant to entertain the idea of losing a player who was integral in their Eredivisie title success under Erik ten Hag last season. Martinez, though, is desperate to rejoin his old boss at Old Trafford - and it appears as though the Premier League giants are on the brink of a breakthrough.

Talks between the two clubs are at an advanced stage after United tabled an improve offer for the defender, and it's expected that a deal worth around £46million will be struck imminently; something that Kabir Kohli alluded to when he shared a snap of the 24-year-old on Instagram with the caption "farewell dinner".

Martinez's personal chef also tweeted that he had done everything he could to try to 'convince' Martinez to stay in Amsterdam for another year, but that the Argentina international was seemingly on his way to Old Trafford.

The picture Kohli shared with Martinez comes shortly after De Telegraaf claimed that the defender had been ordered to train alone rather than with his teammates as Ajax did not want to jeopardise a deal with United, who have been dogged in their pursuit of one of Ten Hag's former generals.

Ten Hag had been hoping to snare Martinez and his Ajax teammate, Antony, in a double-raid on his former side. However, the Dutch giants are determined to keep hold of the talented attacker and have insisted that the 22-year-old will not be allowed to leave for less than €80m (£68m).

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But other than Ajax's hardline stance on Antony things are finally starting to look up for Ten Hag. The club have finally come to an agreement with Barcelona over a deal for Frenkie de Jong - Ten Hag's top summer transfer target.

The agreement means that the protracted transfer saga could finally come to an end in the coming days if United can thrash out personal terms with the Dutch playmaker.

De Jong is another player who worked closely with Ten Hag during his time at Ajax, and the new United chief is keen to hand the 25-year-old a starring role in his new-look side.

The club will be hoping to wrap up deals for De Jong and Martinez in the coming days to build on the capture of Tyrell Malacia, who arrived from Feyenoord in a £12.9m deal last week. United are also locked in talks with Christian Eriksen and are hopeful of pinching the Danish playmaker away from Brentford.