Mourinho discusses Lindelof amid claims £35m deal is close

Jose Mourinho has refused to divulge Manchester United’s interest in Victor Lindelof amid claims a £35million deal for the Swede is close.

United were heavily linked with the Benfica star back in January, but it seemed their interest had cooled after they failed to strike a deal at the time.

Since then, however, reports have suggested Mourinho is ready to resurrect his efforts to prise the player to Old Trafford and it’s claimed the player is on the brink of sealing a £35million transfer and becoming the club’s first arrival of what promises to be a busy summer.

The defender can play both at centre-half and fill in at right-back if required and it’s that versatility that is said to have swayed Mourinho towards the deal.

But the United boss was keeping his counsel when questioned about the player.

When asked about United’s interest in Lindelof, Mourinho said on Monday: ‘I will not say if I want him or not, I don’t think it’s right.

“Rui [Vitoria, Benfica’s manager] is not going to be happy with another club manager talking about a player who is his, the president would not be happy to see that,” Mourinho said.

“Lindelof is theirs and as long as he’s theirs, he’s theirs.”

Mourinho also insisted he was keen to take a short mental break from football and leave United’s transfer plans to Ed Woodward.

“This year, I had the most difficult season of my career. We played all of the games that were possible minus two,” he added in what appeared to be yet another dig at the Premier League fixture schedule.