Former Man City star a £50m target for Man Utd, Real Madrid, Barcelona

Manchester United are reportedly set to rival Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona in a bid to land Bayern Munich star Jerome Boateng.

United boss Jose Mourinho wants to overhaul his defence this summer, with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones likely to be shown the door, while Swedish flop Victor Lindelof could also be moved on.

Both Jones and Smalling have failed to show the consistency and concentration levels that the Red Devils chief demands from his defensive players, prompting Mourinho to look for an upgrade.

And The Sun reports Mourinho is aiming to solve the issue by bidding for £50million-rated Boateng.

The Germany international is being tipped to leave the Bundesliga giants at the end of the season after being plagued by injury issues over the last few years.

 

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Boateng is vastly experienced at international level, with 68 Germany appearances to his name, and would return to England a different player from the one who left England seven years ago.

Man City signed the player from Hamburg in 2010 but he struggled badly to adjust to the Premier League and was sold to Bayern for €13.5million just a year later.

However, the report also claims that City are keen to bring the player back – despite signing Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao in January and also having Vincent Kompany, John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi on their books.

City chief Pep Guardiola managed Boateng during his three-year spell at Bayern and believes he has improved enough to earn a return to England, but La Liga giants Real and Barca are also in the mix for the player’s signature.

Real are set for their own squad overhaul in the summer, while Barca are searching for defensive cover after allowing stalwart Javier Mascherano to leave in January.

 

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