Manchester United chief executive Ed Woodward reportedly met his counterparts from Barcelona on Monday as the club stepped up their bid to sign Spain forward Pedro.

Catalan-based newspaper Mundo Deportivo stated that Woodward attended a scheduled meeting with Albert Soler, Barça’s director of sporting institutional relations, and director Raul Sanllehí where they discussed the 28-year-old’s future.

United have been told repeatedly that they will have to meet Pedro’s release clause of €30m (£21.3m) if they want to sign him, with the paper suggesting that they have so far only offered €25m with a further €5m in bonus payments. Manchester City are also believed to be interested in the player, who was named in the starting lineup for the second leg of the Spanish Supercopa against Athletic Bilbao on Monday night.

Pedro is understood to have misgivings about joining United due to concerns over Louis van Gaal’s management style.