Man Utd plans £ 250m raid to sign Joao Felix, Ruben Dias and Bruno Fernandes

The pursuit by Manchester United of three of the rising young stars of Portugal could cost them 250 million.

General Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to recruit the best young talents rather than older and more experienced players.

That's why he ordered regular updates on the 19-year-old Benfica Joao Felix, and 21-year-old Ruben Dias, as well as Bruno Fernandes, 24, of Sporting Lisbon.

But the best European clubs, including Manchester City, Juventus, Barcelona and Real Madrid, also covet the trio who are all international regulars for their country.

That's why striker Felix has a release clause of 105 million pounds, the buyback cost of Fernandes midfielder is 95 million pounds, while Dias has a value of 50 million pounds.

That's 250 million pounds if a club wants to protect all three.

This is unlikely, but right now, Solskjaer is leaving his options open as he prepares for his first foray into the transfer market.

Although his appointment as permanent director has not yet been confirmed by the Old Trafford hierarchy, he has sent Ed Woodward, Executive Vice-President, a list of transfer objectives. Adrien Rabiot, from Paris Saint-Germain, is a player who would cost much less, at least as far as transfer fees are concerned.

It conflicts with the club and will be available free of charge in summer.

And Manchester United legend Gordon Strachan has supported the Norwegian as Old Trafford.

Strachan is delighted that Solskjaer builds on Sir Alex Ferguson's knowledge – and is not worried about his lack of training.

The Scot spent three seasons at Old Trafford under Fergie and said, "I heard that Ole was not the best coach in the world, but Sir Alex was not the best coach in the world.

"He knew how to train, but for 25 years he did not train much, he left that to others. He brought presence, discipline and philosophy of football – things like pbading the ball further – and that's where modern football is.

"It's a lot simpler than what people do. If you believe all these statistics, you will be caught off guard, but it is "the new clothes of the emperor".

"We know that Ole talks to Sir Alex – and that's good. He will not ask about tactics, but how he manages his role as United manager on and off the park.

"When Alex went to United for the first time, he had a similar arrangement with Sir Matt Busby.

"Nothing technical, just how to manage the role of manager in this club. As a top manager, you can sometimes think that you have all the problems in the world and that it is horrible.

"So it's nice to sit down and have a cup of tea with someone who has lived through this experience and survived. He's OK, he's not crazy.

"It's just nice to talk to someone who has been in your place and there are not many who have followed the road that Ole is right now.

"Sir Alex can say," That's what I had with David Beckham or Jaap Stam, that's how I solved the problem, try that. "