MANCHESTER UNITED will try to keep Edinson Cavani

The Uruguayan, 34, signed a new 12-month contract with United in the summer, but has only started two games this season.

His last appearance was in a 2-2 draw at Atalanta in early November, and his situation has piqued the interest of a number of clubs.

Barca is one of them, but United’s recent issues with Covid have demonstrated the value of having a large squad.

Ralf Rangnick is rumored to be interested in working with Cavani, but the forward has shown no signs of a desire to leave.

Summer signing Sergio Aguero was forced to retire last week by Barcelona, who are 16 points behind Real Madrid and currently sit seventh in LaLiga.

Doctors advised the Manchester City legend, 33, not to play again due to cardiac arrhythmia.

Meanwhile, United hope to reopen their Carrington training ground today, which was closed due to Covid last week.

Last Sunday, just hours after their narrow win at Norwich, the Red Devils were hit by the outbreak for the first time.

It forced them to cancel their trip to Brentford on Tuesday and their home match against Brighton on Saturday.

Rangnick would have only had nine players available for the match against the Bees, and only seven for the weekend match.

On Thursday, United announced that the first team section of their HQ would be closed for a’short period’ to help reduce the risk of a further spread.

They hope to be able to play again on Tuesday, though that will be contingent on how many players test negative.

United’s next match is against relegation-threatened Newcastle on Monday, followed by a three-day home match against Burnley.

Rangnick had planned to use this blank week to get some of his ideas across to his players on the practice field, but his plans have been thrown into disarray.

Jesse Lingard was one of the players that was recently photographed training alone.

Rather than seeking for a January transfer, the England international has decided to see out the remaining months of his United deal.

This would enable him to leave for free in the summer and receive a sizable signing bonus.