David Moyes has admitted he is doing everything he can to strengthen his Manchester United squad amid reports the club are close to completing the capture of midfielder Thiago Alcantara from Barcelona.

Rumours that Thiago has opted to quit the Nou Camp in favour of Old Trafford in order to maximise his chances of making Spain’s World Cup squad next summer have circulated for some time now.

However, so far, the transfer has not been concluded and Moyes opted not to offer any specific updates when he met the media for the first time on Friday.

Reports have emerged in Spain, though, that representatives of both clubs will meet this week to finalise the transfer.

Thiago is available at a cut-price £17 million as he did not feature in the number of first-team games stated in his Barca contract and it is claimed will sign a five-year deal to become Moyes’s first significant capture since replacing Alex Ferguson.

“Manchester United will always be close to the best players in the market,” Moyes said.

“I will inform the supporters as much as I can. Some things are confidential but I am doing everything I possibly can to strengthen the current English champions.”

The deal could be rushed through in time to make Thiago available for the start of United’s pre-season tour on Wednesday.

However, given the highly-rated player’s successful run to the European Under-21 Championship final with eventual winners Spain, he may not be called up for the first part of the three-week expedition to the Far East and Australia anyway.