Man Utd Ready To Move For £53m Frenchman After Giving Up On Real Madrid Star

The transfer window may be closed but clubs are still working hard ahead of January and next summer so we’ll bring you all the latest gossip from around the globe. Today, Jose Mourinho is eyeing Samuel Umtiti….

Manchester United are eyeing a swoop for Barcelona’s £53m-rated defender Samuel Umtiti after Jose Mourinho identified him as an alternative to Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane, according to the Mirror.

The newspaper says Mourinho remains keen to further strengthen his options at centre-back as he looks to bring in a long-term partner for Eric Bailly in the heart of his defence.

Summer signing Victor Lindelof has struggled to hold down a regular spot since joining the club from Benfica in a £30m deal with the Swedish international failing to start a single Premier League game this season and has only made the squad three times.

Chris Smalling has also not been able to cement himself under Mourinho and the Portuguese coach has experimented with different options whenever he’s deployed a three-man defence this campaign.

The Mirror claim Mourinho’s priority is to sign a left-footed central defender who can either play alongside Bailly or on the left-side of a back three and his long-term target has always been Varane.

United were strongly linked with a move for the French international when he was playing second fiddle to Pepe in recent years but Varane has now established himself as a vital part of Zinedine Zidane’s starting eleven.

Therefore, the newspaper says United have been forced to look elsewhere as Varane has no intention of leaving the Bernabeu and Madrid don’t want to sell so Mourinho has seemingly turned his attention to one of his French team mates.

The Mirror claim the United boss is now plotting a move for Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti as Mourinho feels his £53m buyout clause is cheap for a player of his ability in today’s market.

Umtiti moved to the Nou Camp in a £22m deal from Lyon in 2016 and after a slow start to life in Spain, the 23-year-old is now a regular starter alongside Gerard Pique in the middle of defence.

However, it remains to be seen whether Umtiti has genuine interest in joining United or if he’s just using the Red Devils to try and negotiate an improved contract with Barcelona.

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United have been used in this manner in the past so Mourinho will be keen for history not to repeat itself as he looks to try and land a top class centre-back ahead of next summer.