As Jose Mourinho uttered the names of four peripheral Paris Saint-Germain players it felt inevitable Manchester United would be linked with one the following week.

"What Paris Saint Germain did this season with Neymar and Mbappe, they get two of probably the four best attacking players in the world - they get two at the same time," Mourinhosaid during his transfer sermon.

"And then players like [Angel] Di Maria, [Julian] Draxler, [Javier] Pastore, Lucas, they are second choices. Money makes a difference."

Would United settle for a 'second choice' player? Lucas Moura is not even that at the Parc des Princes. The 25-year-old has made six appearances this season and they have all come off the bench. His last start was in May and PSG coach Unai Emery has omitted him from 15 of their 29 matchday squads.

Moura was named on the bench for PSG's last Ligue 1 match at Cannes on December 20 but was omitted from the cup squads against Rennes and Amiens over the last week, amid speculation he could leave this month. A Brazilian with 79 minutes of football midway through the season approaching a World Cup needs to move on.

PSG have identified United as the supposed suckers. European clubs have capitalised on Ed Woodward's transfer rhetoric and United's kamikaze spending over the last four years to inflate the prices of their own players, regardless of whether United are interested or not.

In the summer, PSG overstated United's non-existent interest in Serge Aurier to smoke out an actual bidder in Tottenham. Monaco attempted a similar trick to obtain a fee for Thomas Lemar, Real Madrid did it with James Rodriguez and Bayern Munich did likewise with Renato Sanches. All of them left, bar Lemar.

United are maybe still smarting from their attempt to sign him as a 19-year-old in 2012, when Sir Alex Ferguson's late confidant Bob Cass confidently wrote in the Mail on Sunday a deal was imminent. United offered Sao Paulo £35million but were gazumped by nouveau riche PSG and had their second transfer coup in a summer Zlatan Ibrahimovic arrived.

From a reputational perspective, United should perhaps give Moura a swerve. If they resort to recruiting an unloved PSG player with six substitute appearances to his name, they will have yielded to the Qatari-owned club's brazen ploy, one they avoided with Aurier, Rodriguez and Sanches. They would also have not learnt from the opportunistic loan move for Radamel Falcao three-and-a-half years ago. Moura may merely view United as a stepping stone to the World Cup.

And even then Moura is not an established Brazilian international. His last appearance for the selecao was a 14-minute cameo against Ecuador in the 2016 Copa America, where his squad inclusion was only made possible by Rafinha's late injury. United have fielded popular (Rafael da Silva) and portly (Anderson) Brazilians without anyone from South America's largest country succeeding at Old Trafford.

Mourinho chats with Moura in Paris, 2014
Mourinho chats with Moura in Paris, 2014

Yet Moura's low stock does not match his ability. Ferguson was prepared to break United's transfer record to sign him five-and-a-half years ago and had Moura moved to Prestbury rather than Paris he would have become the first player United had spent over £30m on since Dimitar Berbatov in 2008. Moura struck 16 goals last season and 12 the season before that and his situation at PSG is skewed by unprecedented spending. Neymar and Mbappe would marginalise most forwards in world football.

Then there is the Mourinho factor. Playing under a Portuguese speaker, surrounded by Portuguese staff and Latino players, would be a huge benefit to Moura and the Iberian faction in the United squad has thrived during Mourinho's tenure. Moura would also have a playing mentor to guide him in Ibrahimovic, whom he played with for four years in France.

The right wing has emerged as a problem position for United and Moura would be the purest winger in a squad bereft of natural flankers. Moura's positioning on the right would not tread on the toes of left-sided options Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, either, and United's attack would be quicker.

Whether it be be a six-month loan or a permanent deal, in the post-Neymar market Moura is a cost-efficient gamble maybe worth taking. And he wouldn't be second choice.
