Man Utd dealt major blow hours before Ipswich clash as club 'close door' on deal for key target

Manchester United have been blocked from signing one of their top targets after making initial contact over a transfer.

United take on Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon at Old Trafford, with the game kicking off at 4:30pm.

Michael Carrick's side lost their opening Premier League fixture of the season 2-0 to Hull City last weekend, and will be looking to bounce back against another newly-promoted outfit.

Since that defeat, United have sealed the £70 million signing of Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, who joins fellow new arrivals Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos in the centre of the pitch.

But United are still exploring additions in other areas, with a new left-back identified as a key priority.

On Saturday, Sky Sports News reported that the club had made an enquiry over a move for Aston Villa left-back Ian Maatsen, who joined the Villans from Chelsea two years ago.

READ MORE: Man Utd 'make enquiry' for another Aston Villa player to solve problem position

The Netherlands international, 24, is one of many players that United have seemingly been targeting to compete with Luke Shaw for a spot in their starting XI.

But following the sale of Lucas Digne to Paris Saint-Germain, allowing Maatsen to depart would leave Villa without a natural left-back as they head into the final days of the transfer window.

Ian Maatsen started Aston Villa's 4-0 defeat to Brighton last Sunday (Image: Getty)

It is now being reported that Villa have zero intention of selling the left-back to any club, and will now offer him a new contract to convince him to stay at Villa Park.

In his latest YouTube video, Fabrizio Romano says there are 'no doors open' for United to sign Maatsen.

Who else can Man Utd sign at left-back?

United's absolute top target for the left-back position appears to be Newcastle's Lewis Hall, but the Magpies are said to have deemed him unsellable after losing several key players already this summer.

There have also been links to Barcelona's Alejandro Balde, but the Spain international is said to ideally want to stay at Camp Nou unless the club decide to allow him to move on.

In an update on his YouTube channel on Balde, Romano revealed that it 'would take a big amount of money' to sell Balde but that Barca may yet consider a loan - though that is not on the table at present.

"At the moment, it is very complicated because Barcelona are not accepting a loan, as of today," Romano said. "Still no green light on a loan.

"Then, if they open to a loan in the final hours of the market, that's another story. But, as of today, Barca are not opening to a loan, and Balde wants to stay at Barcelona.

"Balde is not going to normal clubs. So if United come for Balde, it could be interesting but, at the moment, financially permanent deal is very complicated - for the salary and for the transfer fee."

'We try and do the best...' - Michael Carrick issues transfer update on Man Utd player

One other alternative for United is already at the club, with young left-back Harry Amass currently playing for the U21s after loan spells in the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday and Norwich last season.

But asked about the 19-year-old's future ahead of the Ipswich clash, Carrick didn't exactly appear to be committed to keeping Amass at Old Trafford beyond the deadline.

"It comes to this stage, and this is the stage of the window, there is always different scenarios," he told reporters.

"We try and do the best for each individual player while keeping the group strong. We've been really pleased with Harry, he had a really good pre-season that didn't end so well with the injury. He's done really well in pre-season."