Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Disruptive Man Utd exit accelerates as European suitors ‘have ace up their sleeve’ to tempt star Ten Hag likes

Diogo Dalot and Victor Lindelof warming up

Diogo Dalot and Victor Lindelof warming up for Manchester United before FA Cup match

Erik ten Hag and Manchester United are at growing risk of losing defender Victor Lindelof, as a report has explained the cunning method one club will use to take him to France.

Man Utd paid Benfica £31million to sign Lindelof in summer 2017. Since then, he has made 232 appearances for the club, helping them to win the League Cup last season.

Lindelof has rarely been a guaranteed starter at Man Utd and that remains the case under Ten Hag. The manager can also use the likes of Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire at centre-back. Plus, the Red Devils are on the verge of handing veteran defender Jonny Evans a one-year contract in a surprise move.

However, Ten Hag is a big fan of Lindelof and resultantly handed him 35 appearances across all competitions last term. In terms of this season, the Sweden international played the second half of Man Utd’s season-opening victory over Wolves, though he was left on the bench against Tottenham at the weekend.

Ten Hag has pushed Lindelof up the centre-half pecking order, ahead of former club captain Maguire. This explains why Man Utd agreed a £30m deal with West Ham for Maguire to leave Old Trafford, only to see the Englishman reject that move.

In June, it emerged that Man Utd had begun contract discussions with Lindelof amid interest in the 29-year-old from Eintracht Frankfurt. Man Utd were hoping to extend Lindelof’s contract beyond June 2024 in order to keep Frankfurt at bay.

READ MORE: Ten Hag humbled as target rejects Man Utd despite them making ‘most important’ offer; rival move to be sealed today

But Man Utd have yet to actually tie Lindelof down to a new, long-term deal, and this has now led to interest from France.

According to RMC Sport, Rennes manager Bruno Genesio ‘appreciates’ Lindelof’s ability and the Ligue 1 outfit have therefore ‘enquired’ about his availability.

Rennes aiming to sign Man Utd player

Rennes are aware that it will be difficult to snare Lindelof away from Man Utd, as he is currently comfortable in England and is enjoying playing under Ten Hag.

However, the report states that Rennes have ‘an ace up their sleeve’ which they will use to try and tempt Lindelof to France. This secret weapon is midfielder Nemanja Matic.

 

The defensive midfielder recently joined Rennes from Roma. The move came after a breakdown in his relationship with Roma boss Jose Mourinho.

Matic struck up a close friendship with Lindelof during their time together at Man Utd, between 2017 and 2022. And Rennes are now ready to use this relationship to try and get Lindelof to reunite with Matic at the Roazhon Park stadium.

Upon learning of this cunning plan from Rennes, Ten Hag will almost certainly tell the Man Utd hierarchy to get a new contract sorted for Lindelof as soon as physically possible.

Meanwhile, Man Utd have released a statement to announce that Mason Greenwood will be leaving the club due to the ‘difficulty’ in him potentially returning.