Krishnan Sreekumar
Jose Mourinho keen to raid Manchester United for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot
According to reports from La Gazzetta dello Sport and Corriere dello Sport (h/t The Sun), AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho is looking to raid his former club Manchester United for defenders Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Diogo Dalot in a double swoop.
Wan-Bissaka and Dalot were the only right-backs available to the Red Devils this term, with the two players enjoying completely different campaigns. While the former enjoyed a continuous run of games in the first half of the season, the latter was preferred in the second period.
This was because the Manchester side saw a change in managers midway through the season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer replaced by Ralf Rangnick late last year. The new boss opted to play the more attacking Dalot in his team over the defensively-able Wan-Bissaka.
Meanwhile, in Rome, former United boss Mourinho is looking for options in the right-back position. The Italian club will see loanee Ainsley Maitland-Niles return to Arsenal after a disappointing loan spell, and the Portuguese coach is looking to complete a double swoop at his old club in the summer.
Double swoop at Old Trafford
The Europa Conference League-winning boss is an admirer of Wan-Bissaka, but it will cost him £25m to sign the player. Furthermore, Roma are only interested in taking the 24-year-old on loan, with the option to buy in the future.
Meanwhile, a move for Dalot would see Mourinho be reunited with the Portugal international once again, having signed him from Porto for the Red Devils in 2018. The 23-year-old is valued at just £13m, given that he is out of contract next year.
If Mourinho were to pull off a double sweep of his former employers’ squad, then it will leave United out of options at right-back. His transfer targets are the English side’s only senior defenders who occupy that position in the current first-team squad.
Brandon Williams will return from his loan spell at Norwich City to fill in, but the academy product is primarily a left-back. New United manager Erik ten Hag would be forced to take to the transfer market to look for replacements, or dip into the academy.
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Mourinho seems to be keen on signing right-backs with differing qualities in his squad next term, with Wan-Bissaka and Dalot being targeted. The former is known for his crunching slide tackles, while the latter prefers to bomb up the pitch to support the attack.
It will be curious to see whether the Red Devils will allow both their right-backs to depart in the same transfer window, especially when they are about to begin a new era under their new boss. Only time will tell if Mourinho manages to get what he wants in the coming weeks.
