Manchester United’s defensive problems are starting to worry everybody and the club is looking to bolster the squad by adding Stefan De Vrij from Lazio in the summer. His contract is due to end after this season but the club was optimistic of an extension which will reportedly have a release clause of £20m.
However recent reports claim that the new offer has hit a brick wall and currently negotiations have been discontinued. Lazio’s sporting director, Igli Tare said, “Lazio have withdrawn the proposal we made for a new contract to De Vrij. We are withdrawing, for reasons that we will explain later on. It was a choice made after many months of negotiations, but there is also a limit to how things went. He has been an exemplary professional and we thank him for that, as well as what he’ll do until the end of the season.”
Signing him for free would be a dream for United, but it looks like they will have to shell just over a quarter of what Liverpool paid for Virgil van Dijk.
De Vrij first arrived at Lazio in the summer of 2014 from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee and has so far registered 7 goals in 100 appearances for the Serie A outfit. 4 of those goals came this season and that is impressive for a player who spends a majority of his minutes protecting his own goal rather than surging ahead. De Vrij is particularly a centre-back has established himself as a first-team regular both for Lazio as well as the Netherlands national team.
He has appeared 31 times for Holland and was one of the most-sought-after targets for the ex-United boss, Louis Van Gaal. The 26-year developed his game in the Netherlands before making a significant mark in Europe with the White And Blues.
United have been without Eric Bailey since November 2017 and the defence has been left vulnerable in the recent past. Phil Jones has struggled to find his feet for the Red Devils and very naively guided in Kevin Trippier’s grounded cross into his own goal in the 0-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on 1st February.
Chris Smalling has also been an ieffective body in the United backline and has a tendency to lose focus in games. Daley blind has barely played for the team at all this season and Mourinho was ready to offload him in January. Victor Lindelof’s and the Swede will need a season or two to settle into the lead role as a centre-half.
The Red Devils are set to clash with Sevilla on Wednesday night for the round of 16 fixture of the European competition and will be bolstered by the return of Bailly.
