Thomas Hein
Jose Mourinho was in Innsbruck as Russia faced Austria in a friendly prior to the World Cup and The Sun claims that the Manchester United boss was scouting Russian star Aleksandr Golovin.
While Marko Arnautovic played an important role in the 1-0 win over Russia, the report suggests that the £15million-rated Golovin could actually end up replacing Juan Mata, who is a fan favourite at Old Trafford.
Mata could be one of the big names at the club to face the axe and Golovin could be a cheap alternative to some of the bigger transfer fees being paid in the transfer window.
Golovin, who plays for CSKA Moscow, scored 7 goals in all competitions for the Russian giants and provided four assists for the club.
The 22-year-old will be in action for the national side as they look to impress in front of their fans and are hopeful of making it out of a group that features Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.
Golovin can play in a number of positions, covering the entire front three or even as a central attacking midfielder. He would provide Mourinho with a lot of options due to this.
The 22-year-old is cons
idered to be one of the brightest talents to come out of Russian football and with his price-tag being £15million, it would be a great steal should we be able to negotiate with CSKA.
The one fear regarding this transfer could be the fact that if Russia do well, then Golovin’s price will shoot up, something that is a norm whenever such tournaments are held.
The Russian forward has spent his entire senior career with CSKA but his formative years saw him be a part of DYuSSh Kaltan and Metallurg Novokuznetsk.
Hopefully, this can be one of those low key signings that might come well under the management of Mourinho. Golovin has a big tournament ahead of him and a great performance will help him make the transition to a bigger club in Europe.
