After four frustrating years in the post-Ferguson era, Manchester United are off to an exciting start this season. A busy summer saw the Red Devils cash out in excess of £150m and it appears that the spending has paid its dividends with Manchester United currently sitting in the second position in the league table.
Mourinho’s men beat Tottenham 1-0 at home with a depleted side and continued their perfect record in the Champions League until last weekend’s defeat to Chelsea. The loss at Stamford Bridge put another break on their momentum and they are now trailing league leaders Manchester City by eight points.
However, the title race is far from over and a couple of quick wins will again pit them in the race against their noisy neighbours who are bound to lose some momentum in the coming weeks with the busy Christmas period coming up.
It is now being reported that Mourinho is looking to add further depth and strength to his squad and French central defender Samuel Umtiti has become a target for Manchester United.
Mourinho was desperate for a centre-back signing in the summer and the arrival of Victor Lindelof from Benfica appeased the Portuguese for the time being. However, with Lindelof unable to hit the ground running, Barcelona’s French defender may become a priority signing.
Currently, the Red Devils have Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo who can play in the centre back position. It will be interesting to see Mourinho adjust another centre back into the side. United also have makeshift cover at the back in the form of Daley Blind and Nemanja Matic.
Umtiti’s arrival would see him walk straight into the starting line-up and that would mean either Jones or Smalling losing their place as Bailly is expected to be the other centre half in Mourinho’s backline.
The Barcelona man is full of potential and is now a regular starter for the Catalan side after replacing the ageing Javier Mascherano at Nou Camp. Umtiti was brought in from French side Lyon last season for a reported fee of £22m.
The youngster impressed largely last year and kept pushing for a spot in the starting lineup. This season he has become a first-team starter and has been impressive in his outings so far. The talented centre-back is tipped to become a regular for France as well next year at Russia and has a bright future ahead of him. With Umtiti developing so fast, it will not be easy for the Red Devils to snatch away the Frenchman from the Blaugrana.
