Man Utd eye £53m Barcelona star as Mourinho loses faith in Lindelof

Jose Mourinho is reportedly eyeing a swoop for Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti amid claims the Manchester United boss is already set to cast aside summer signing Victor Lindelof.

Sweden defender Lindelof arrived at Old Trafford in a £31million switch from Benfica over the summer, but has so far failed to impress his manager and has been limited to just two Premier League appearances.

With Mourinho forced into calling on Phil Jones and Chris Smalling as partners for first-choice Eric Bailly, the United manager is reportedly scouring Europe for a top-class centre-half signing.

It’s reported that Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane remains Mourinho’s No 1 choice – and Paper Talk earlier this week mooted a £120million swap deal between the two clubs – though the United boss knows the European champions will not allow the Frenchman to leave without a major fight.

As an alternative, the Daily Mirror reckons United will instead pursue a deal for Barcelona’s Umtiti, who has started the season in really good form for Barcelona.

Umtiti joined Barcelona from Lyon in a £22million deal back in 2016. But his release clause at the Nou Camp only stands at £53million – a figure deemed deemed below the 23-year-old’s value by Mourinho.

Barcelona are well aware of the need to renegotiate Umtiti’s deal, and having made himself first-choice partner to Gerard Pique in his 17 months in Catalunya, his deal at the Nou Camp runs until 2021.

 

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