Europa League winners Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a move for Belgian star Leander Dendoncker as the club has planned to send scouts to Anderlecht to get a better knowledge about him. The Belgian side would face Antwerp and if reports from Belgian news outlet De Morgen is to be believed, the Red Devils scouts are expected to be there.
Jose Mourinho has kept his splurging habit intact during the transfer period as United brought in Victor Lindelof and Romelu Lukaku this summer. The Manchester outfit had to endure a terrible domestic campaign last season where Mourinho saw his men hardly create any chances. United could score only 54 goals last season which saw a lack of their scoring abilities as well as creating chances.
While Lukaku’s arrival pretty much solves the scoring concerns of Mourinho, midfield still remains a huge crisis position for United. Mourinho has been trying to get in some of the best talents in that position with United already linked with the likes of Emil Forsberg, Eric Dier, Nemanja Matic and more.
However, despite winning the second-tier European tournament, the Premier League giants have struggled to bring in players at their whims. Both Forsberg and Dier remain doubtful in their arrivals and the young Belgian international has become the next option for the Portuguese manager in his midfield.
He first came on Mourinho’s radar when the 22-year-old had scored against United at home in the first leg of the Europa League quarter final. The player looked immensely composed on and off the ball and is capable of distributing a wide array of passes from the deep midfield. Anderlecht rates him highly and has slapped a £34 million price tag on the player.
United are willing to meet that price but would want to scout him more before taking the plunge. The report also revealed that the Passendale-born player is willing to test his abilities at the top most level after finding success in the Belgium league. He has scored 10 times and produced one assist since breaking into their first team in 2014.
However, he has been pretty inconsistent in his game since making his debut back in 2015. Anderlecht are highly unlikely to leave him after already letting Youri Tielemans leave for AS Monaco and at just 22, Leander should stay for few more seasons before moving out.
Leander is also an unproven prospect with very limited Champions League games to his name and Mourinho will be wary of splurging such a hefty fee for him.
