Manchester United are potentially scaring away potential suitors for Memphis Depay, seemingly heading for the Old Trafford exit after falling out of favour under Jose Mourinho.
French side Nice are keen to bring the Dutchman across the Channel on loan, but United are only interested in a permanent deal.
There is a sticking point with that, as they are keen to reclaim as much of the £25m they paid for Depay in 2015 as possible.
He has not featured for the club since November, and Everton are also keen on the midfielder.
Nice president Jean-Pierre Rivere has admitted that they have been forced away as they simply cannot afford Depay.
Rivere told RMC: ‘We looked at him, like a lot of clubs have, but it is extremely complicated.
‘It is a situation which is out of our financial reach. You have a club that brought him for a certain amount, that wants to sell him.
‘When we looked at Depay, it was in another way, which is not possible today.
‘He was brought very expensively by Manchester United, they want to possibly sell him and we cannot compete in this sort of situation.’
By Steve Osborne @BlizzardSteve75
