By Dave Marshal
Manchester United are in crisis and if Jose Mourinho doesn’t fix it soon, he might find himself under a lot of scrutiny by his employers. After a morale boosting 4-0 victory over Feyeenoord in the Europa League on Thursday, United were held to their fourth consecutive home draw in the Premier League. The match against West Ham was the first installment of the double header against Slaven Bilic’s men with the EFL cup quarter final first leg on Wednesday still to come.
The Red Devils played out a 1-1 draw with the Hammers, a match that saw the 53 year old manager sent to the stands again for the second time this season. Manchester United have won just once in their last eight league games, and are on the lookout for top quality signings in January to invigorate the squad. Portuguese newspaper, O Jogo reports that The Old Trafford outfit have met with the agents of 22 year old Benfica centre back, Victor Lindelof about a potential transfer to England, with a fee in the region of £25m being mooted.
Jose Mourinho has identified the commanding centre back as the ideal partner for summer signing, Eric Bailly. Lindelof is steadily growing a reputation as one of the finest young defenders in Europe, and Manchester United are closely monitoring his development. He was reportedly close to a move to Stamford Bridge earlier in the summer, as Antonio Conte was looking for a ball playing defender to be at the fulcrum of his favoured 3-4-3 formation, before ultimately plumping for David Luiz. Lindelof is a tough tackling centre-back, excellent in reading opposition moves and making interceptions look very easy. He is also adept at bringing the ball out of the back, an attribute modern day coaches look out for in their defensive targets.
The likes of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind are all decent enough defenders, but Mourinho is looking for that extra bit of quality. Lindelof has been an ever present for the Estadio da Luz side, making 16 appearances across all competitions, and has a contract with the Portuguese giants till the summer of 2020.
If both parties can reach an agreement, he will be a good signing for the Red Devils.
