Bharath Rammr
There have been increasing reports that Manchester United have pulled out of the deal for Victor Lindelof. The Benfica defender is thought to have been very close to a £38 million move to Old Trafford in a fee that could potentially rise to up to £ 42 million. However, the transfer has been reportedly cancelled by José Mourinho since the Portuguese manager is now happy with the existing defenders in the squad. Even then, rumours concerning the 22-year-old do not seem to go away as the player’s camp and his club do want the transfer to take place.
Lindelof’s former club Vasteras emerged as the stumbling block in the potential deal a few weeks ago. The club demanded that they were right to expect a 20% settlement out of the transfer fee, which would reduce Benfica’s share of the sale, and a €250,000 fee which has been outstanding for a while. As both clubs argued about the finer details, Manchester United saw an opportunity to continue with the likes of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones at the back. Even without summer signing Eric Bailly, the club has been able to go on an impressive defensive run over the last few weeks.
Mourinho is of the opinion that he would rather continue with the existing complement of defenders – Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Daley Blind, and Eric Bailly – rather than blow the money on yet another defender. Instead, Mourinho now looks to strengthen in a different part of the pitch. Vasteras’ chairman Bengt-Ake Nilsson, though, is still increasingly positive that a deal would take place. As quoted by M.E.N, he said:
“We have hopes. They have increased after we made contact with Benfica. We hope that this will resolve itself in the near future. Now there is enough interest from both ourselves and the Benfica side that [can] quickly come to a solution.”
According to BBC, Southampton defender Jose Fonte has recently handed in a transfer request, and it has put Jose Mourinho in another spot of bother. The 32-year-old was a summer transfer target for the club and Southampton refused to see him. Now, they would rather receive the £15 million offer for the 32-year-old rather than keep him as an unhappy player in the squad. Mourinho, however, is thought to be contemplating at the need for another defender in the squad.
United have been on an impressive run over the last month and they have managed to win the last six matches in the league without exception. Now, the focus will also shift towards the cup competitions with games against Hull City and St Etienne awaiting the club in the EFL Cup and the Europa League respectively.
