Manchester United told they will have to pay £31m to sign Brazil sensation Gabriel Jesus

Manchester United have been warned they will have to pay €40m (£31m, $45m) if they wish to sign Brazilian starlet Gabriel Jesus.

Palmeiras forward Jesus, regarded as one of Brazil's biggest emerging talents, has quickly attracted the attention of some of Europe's biggest clubs. Gazzetta dello Sport claim Serie A champions Juventus have made an offer worth between £11.5m and £15.4m, while Brazilian publication O Estado de Sao Paulo suggest United are waiting to hear if their offer of £19m has been accepted.

Jesus' agent Cristiano Simões denied those bids, but has since warned his client's suitors they will have to dig much deeper if they want to lure the Brazil Under-23 international to Europe.

Simões told Brazilian publication Lancenet: "€15m is not enough for him. That is much less than his release clause. He is not going to leave Palmeiras for only €15m.

"Gabriel is playing brilliantly, he is scoring goals and he has a €40m release clause. Of course Palmeiras are not going to sell him for less than that. If we receive a good offer we could think about it, but there is nothing concrete at the moment."

According to the same publication, Jesus has picked United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain as his preferred options. The Premier League club will be faced with a big disadvantage however, with no Champions League football to offer their prospective recruits this summer.

Jesus is expected to be named in the Brazil squad for this summer's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and Palmeiras are eager to hold onto their prized asset until after the competition in hope of driving up his asking price.

The teenage forward played alongside current Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira at last year's Under-20 World Cup, where Brazil finished runners-up to Serbia.