Ryan Gauld
Reuters

Manchester United have reportedly made a £3m bid in signing Liverpool and Arsenal target Ryan Gauld, according to the Mirror.

The 17-year-old Dundee United midfielder has been tracked by top clubs from England and Europe.

Liverpool have sent scouts to watch the midfielder in action while the Daily Mail claims Arsenal have also been monitoring the Scotland U21 star.

Gauld came up through the ranks of Dundee's youth system and is considered to be one of the brightest prospects to come out of the club's academy.

He has been a regular inclusion in Jackie McNamara's side and has in impressive form for the Terrors this season.

The Mirror reports the Premier League champions have already offered a £3m fee for Gauld's signature, along with a three pre-season friendly matches next July.

However, the Scottish outfit are looking for a transfer fee of £6m to allow the wonderkid leave Tannadice Park.

David Moyes is likely to make an approach for his compatriot in the summer as he has set his eyes on the midfielder to be a part of the long term plan at Old Trafford. Gauld's style of play has seen him being dubbed as the "Mini Messi."

Meanwhile, the midfielder has expressed his desire to leave the Scottish outfit in the future as he looks to play in the top flight European competition.

Gauld was delighted to be compared with Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, but was quick to shrug off the comparison.

"I would like to think that I could go abroad maybe and see the lifestyle and culture over there. Obviously, every young boy's dream is the Champions League. That's the biggest stage of football so if I could reach that at some point in my career I would be absolutely delighted," Gauld told BBC.

"I don't really listen to it. Obviously it's great to get that comparison. But I don't think anybody will ever be a mini-Messi. The stuff he can do with a ball is a joke! When I'm watching him I just wonder how he does some of the stuff that he does."

"It goes through your head to try it and then you think, nah, maybe I'm not good enough to do that yet, I'll maybe have to wait a few years," he added.

Gauld recently signed a contract extension that will keep him at Tannadice Park till 2016.