Bharath Rammr
Manchester United secured their third clean sheet in the last five games of all competitions after a 2-0 win over West Brom on Saturday. It was a game that once again highlighted the brilliant defensive partnership between Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo. However, Jose Mourinho still does not seem to have full trust in the existing complement of defenders at United. The club continues to be linked with several defenders across European football, but one of their top transfer targets has been Benfica defender Victor Lindelof.
The Swedish talent is only 22, but he is already regarded as one of the finest young defenders in world football. Keen to prize him away from the Portuguese club like they have done on so many occasions, United, as according to the Daily Mirror, have offered £34 million on with add-ons which could potentially see the deal go up to £ 38 million. It would make Lindelof as one of the most expensive defenders in the world. More importantly, it would see him play alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic – one of the greatest Swedish players ever. He is likely to form a partnership with Eric Bailly, who is seen as the first choice defender at the club despite the good form enjoyed by Jones and Rojo.
Lindelof has a contract which reportedly has a release clause of around £30 million, but Benfica are very keen on extending this deal to insert a new release clause of around £60 million. Such a figure would drive away most of the interested clubs, but United are already ready to pay in excess of the release clause largely because it does not kick in until the summer. Lindelof is also keen on pushing the transfer as early as possible, which means that he is keen on joining United even in January.
It should be an alert for clubs to make such an expensive purchase in January considering that it leaves them with little chance to settle. However, the contractual situation of Lindelof means that United need to make this transfer now or risk paying at least £20 million more in the summer.
United have struggled in defensive side of things, especially late in the game. The club have already lost in a number of points from winning positions, but Mourinho seems to have turned around the corner of late. Going 10 matches without a defeat in all competitions has certainly infused the fear factor back in the United, while the win over West Brom was the third consecutive league victory for the Red Devils. The club have back-to-back matches on Boxing Day and on New Year’s Eve with north-east outfit Sunderland and Middlesbrough visiting Old Trafford.
