A journalist ‘expects’ a European side to approach Manchester United over the availability of Victor Lindelof, while a Tottenham player could also be targeted.
Manchester United spent an initial £30.7million, plus £8.8m in add-ons, to sign Lindelof from Benfica in summer 2017. The centre-back has gone on to play 197 matches for the Red Devils since then.
35 of those appearances came last season. Lindelof played regularly in competitions such as the Premier League and Champions League, although Manchester United couldn’t add any more trophies to their cabinet.
The defender fell down the pecking order when United brought in Lisandro Martinez in late July. The Argentine cost around £57m when arriving from Erik ten Hag’s former club, Ajax.
Amid Harry Maguire’s struggles, Ten Hag has gone with Martinez and Raphael Varane as his first-choice centre-back pairing in recent matches.
He is also giving Maguire game time, usually off the bench, to try and improve the Englishman’s confidence.
Lindelof could be seen as United’s fourth choice centre-half. He is more likely to get first-team opportunities than Phil Jones or Axel Tuanzebe.
However, the Swede has still only made one outing so far this season. That came in the 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad on September 8.
Victor Lindelof could leave Man Utd for Italy
Lindelof will probably want to leave United in the near future to get more game time elsewhere. And one club is reportedly preparing to hand him that wish.
As per Italian transfer journalist Rudy Galetti, Serie A outfit Roma are ‘expected’ to contact United and Lindelof’s agent over a potential move.
Roma are searching for a new player to bolster their defence. They have looked into several free-agent deals but have decided not to act on them, and are instead pursuing Lindelof.
The approach from Roma will apparently happen ‘in the coming weeks’. The main aim is to find out whether United would be open to selling Lindelof in January.
The 28-year-old’s United contract runs for another two years. As he isn’t an integral first-team player, the club are unlikely to offer him a new one.
As such, it will be interesting to see how United respond to the proposal. They could cash in during January and get a decent amount of money for Lindelof, or wait until a later transfer window before letting him leave.
Lindelof’s stance will also be crucial to how United react. If the player reveals his desire to leave, then United may soften their stance and agree a departure. But if he wishes to remain at Old Trafford and fight for a starting spot, then they will likely push Roma back.
Club has Tottenham, Chelsea alternatives
Jose Mourinho does have a couple of backup options, in case Victor Lindelof stays in Manchester. And both of them are in the Prem.
The first is Tottenham player Japhet Tanganga. He was heavily linked with an AC Milan move in the summer, but it didn’t go through.
Roma are keeping tabs on his situation and could launch a move if Lindelof proves too hard to capture.
The third man on their defensive shortlist is Trevoh Chalobah. Like Tanganga, he almost made a switch to Italy in the most recent transfer window.
Inter Milan set their sights on him, but Chelsea soon changed their minds and revealed they didn’t want to loan him out.
It seems Roma are in the same kind of market as Milan and Inter, and may pursue Chalobah if the previous two defenders cannot be signed.
Meanwhile, Erik Ten Hag says it will be full steam ahead for the January transfer window during the upcoming gap
