Leicester City beat Manchester United to land Liandro Martis

Manchester United are set to lose out in the race for Liandro Martis with the former Feyenoord player set to sign for league rivals Leicester City in the coming days. The Portuguese winger had a trial at both clubs, but received an offer from the latter despite training with the Foxes for just a day.

According to the Daily Mail, Martis is set to agree a three-year deal with the reigning Premier League champions and is likely to join their academy team for the upcoming campaign. It is expected that he could be sent on a season-long loan to a club in the lower leagues to gain regular first-team experience.

The Red Devils had the former Willem II Tilburg youth-team player on trial for over a week, but delayed their offer and are now set to lose out to their league rivals. Martis, who has been unattached since the start of the 2015/16 season, has spent time on trial with a number of clubs in England including National League side Barrow FC, Northern Premier League side Buxton FC and League One outfit Oldham Athletic. He impressed with all the clubs and has an offer from the latter, but is likely to choose the Premier League side to continue his development.

Claudio Ranieri has concentrated on strengthening his first-team with six signings coming in thus far as the club prepares for their debut campaign in the Premier League. The Curacao international, who confirmed interest from the Foxes, while also hinting at a possible deal from the 20-times English champions, is keen to resolve his future at the earliest and restart his career.

"I went into Leicester for a day and felt comfortable and got an offer. Then I went into Manchester United for a week and received good feedback from Warren Joyce and could have earned a deal had I waited, but I just want to get my career started," Martis told Teamtalk, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"I am confident in my ability. I've played a number of games to obtain fitness and have done well."

"I played against League Two Crewe and scored and laid on an assist and then played in a game with Tranmere where I help set up a number of goals before I went Oldham and scored against a championship Preston. Oldham have offered me a deal and we have been in negotiations for two weeks," he explained.

"I am nearing a decision on my future and I want to make the right decision for the next stage of my career."