Manchester United have reportedly decided against signing the Benfica defender, Victor Lindelöf, during the January transfer window.
Most reports in recent weeks had pointed towards a deal being done, with some claiming that Lindelöf would become the club’s most expensive all-time defender, costing around £38m, and that he had been assigned a squad number at Old Trafford.
Portuguese publication, O Jogo, added fuel to the fire after claiming today that Benfica would try to get the defender to sign a new contract to raise the value in case of any transfer to United. However, the BBC understands that United will not make any formal bid for the 22-year-old Swedish centre-back.
No bid made by Man Utd for Lindelof and told he won’t be coming next month https://t.co/ZHaPqHQEAv
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) December 28, 2016
Injuries to Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling mean United have struggled for a settled centre-back pairing this season. Furthermore, Bailly will take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, as a result of which, José Mourinho is to be without the Ivory Coast international for up to five weeks.
However, the excellent recent form of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo has convinced the former Chelsea manager to not sign any new players, and to stick with what he’s got. Jones and Rojo were paired together for the first time in United’s 3-1 win against Swansea on 6 November. Since then, the Red Devils have gone through an unbeaten run for 11 games. Rojo and Jones have partnered together for nine of those matches, conceding six goals.
Lindelöf would have added quality to the side, no doubt, but at the same time his signing would mean an unnecessary addition to the squad, especially when United still have Daley Blind and Smalling for the two centre-back positions.
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