Manchester United coach Frans Hoek admits signing Barcelona winger Pedro will be 'difficult'

Manchester United coach Frans Hoek has confirmed the club's interest in Barcelona winger Pedro but admits bringing him to Old Trafford will be difficult. Louis van Gaal is eager to bring the 27-year-old to Old Trafford, according to the Guardian, who suggest the Premier League side are ready to meet his £22m (€31m) release clause.

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique suggested last week he was open to allowing the player to leave the Nou Camp but insisted no formal offers had been made. But Hoek, United's goalkeeping coach who followed van Gaal to the club last summer, suggests United are now making attempts to bring the player to Manchester. "Pedro? We will see, a lot of things can happen in the world of football, but everything is very difficult," he was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Sport.

United's efforts to bring Pedro to the club could be heightened with Angel Di Maria now poised to leave the club to join Paris Saint-Germain. PSG boss Laurent Blanc told Sky Sports that both clubs are 'close to the end' of negotiations in a move that is likely to see United make a loss on the club record fee of £59.7m they paid for the player last year.

Another player who looks certain to leave United after a short stay is goalkeeper Victor Valdes. The ex-Barcelona star, who only joined the club in January, was left out of the club's pre-season tour of the United States after reportedly falling out with van Gaal, who later told the club's official website the player would be sold.

Hoek, who worked with Valdes during his spell as a coach at the Nou Camp, is confident however that the 33-year-old will have no trouble finding a new club. "I don't want to talk about negative things. Valdes is a great goalkeeper and I am sure he will find a great team this season."

The future of goalkeeper David de Gea also remains under scrutiny after van Gaal admitted the situation where he continues to be linked with a move to Real Madrid is "not favourable", BBC Sport report.

On the subject of the Spain international, Hoek was unable to say if there were any major developments regarding his future but told the Spanish newspaper: "He is working with us, we rely on him."