Manchester United centre back garners interest from Turkey
- United want to clear the deadwood in the squad
- Selling would bring in funds that can be spent on other targets
- Mourinho wants to reunite with his player
By Kavin Kumar
Manchester United are undergoing a crucial phase in the club's history. The new ownership is determined to restructure the club and the squad. Vital to this is the ability to clear the deadwood. And now one of United's least-used defenders has received interest from Turkey.
According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, centre-back Victor Lindelof is among the transfer targets for Turkish club Fenerbahce. United are reportedly happy to sell him as they see no future for him in Manchester. He has one more year left on his contract and hence the club would expect a decent fee for him.
Fenerbahce had recently appointed former United manager Jose Mourinho as their head coach. Interestingly, Mourinho was the one who brought Lindelof to Old Trafford from Portuguese club Benfica. And now he wants the Swede to join him in Turkey as he looks to strengthen his defence.
Though Lindelof plays mainly as a centre-back, he can also feature at right-back and as a defensive midfielder. Under manager Erik ten Hag he has found playing time hard to come by as the Dutchman preferred the likes of Varane, Maguire, and Martinez. Perhaps his most memorable moment in United colours would be the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton in 2022/23. He scored the winning penalty in the shootout, thus booking a place in the final against Manchester City. But he couldn't stop his side from succumbing to a defeat in the final. Lindelof has won the EFL Cup in 2022/23 and the FA Cup in 2023/24.
Selling Lindelof would mean United will go all out to buy a centre-back. They have been trying to work out a deal for Everton youngster Jarrad Branthwaite but the Merseyside club are proving to be tough negotiators. It is believed that they are demanding more than £70 million for the English defender. This has put off the Manchester Club which might move to other targets if the price isn't lowered. Bayern Munich defender Matthijs de Ligt, who played under ten Hag at Ajax, remains a transfer target.