Bharath Rammr
According to The Sun, Manchester United are looking set to seal their first major signing of the summer transfer window by confirming the signing of Swedish defender Victor Lindelof in the next few days. The Benfica defender has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for the last six months. After coming close to making the switch in January, United managed to pull out of the deal. Now, Champions League football coupled with the aim for the league title seems to have made Jose Mourinho think about the need for an additional top defender in the squad.
Lindelof will certainly not come for cheap, as he is expected to cost around £35 million. Yet, there has been no drop in the player’s performance despite a lot of transfer rumours linking him with a move to Old Trafford. Benfica managed to win the Portuguese league title ahead of FC Porto. The club also managed to keep the best defence in the Portuguese league.
The ability to play at centre back or right back happens to be one of the biggest advantages of Lindelof, but it is widely expected that the Red Devils will use him as a centre back – to be paired alongside Eric Bailly. Antonio Valencia signing a contract extension is a key sign of this move. Lindelof will be signing a new five-year contract with us.
His move puts the future of Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw under a major cloud of doubt. The Portuguese manager has been widely critical of these two players throughout the campaign. Even though Manchester United managed to finish the Premier league with the second best defensive record, it appears that Mourinho is not entirely happy with his defensive unit.
There was a danger of Benfica holding out for a bigger fee considering that the player still has several years left on his contract. However, United appear to have managed to agree a 35 million deal for the talented defender.
