Latest reports are concurring that Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is not ready to give up on his chase for the signature of Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti. The talented Frenchman has been linked with a move away from the Catalan club to Old Trafford for quite some time now but nothing substantial has ever come up.
It is being reported that the United boss has placed Umtiti high up on his wishlist for his summer shopping. However, the defender seems to be edging closer to signing a new deal with Barcelona and is no longer feeling the need to leave the Catalan giants. This would mean that United will have to look elsewhere.
It is being reported that Jose Mourinho is ready to send out his Swedish defender Victor Lindelof out on loan for a small spell and replace the player with either Samuel Umtiti or Jonny Evans, a former Manchester United defender.
Barcelona themselves are confident that talks with the player and his agent have advanced fairly and the two involved parties might reach a new agreement before the 2018 FIFA World Cup leaving Mourinho empty-handed.
As for United, the signing of Umtiti would be necessary. The base and foundation of every Mourinho team is the rigid backline upon which his attackers thrive. Be it the Chelsea team of 2005 or the Inter Milan squad of 2010, Mourinho has always marshalled a well-drilled defence.
At United, the Portuguese has been blessed with an abundance of talented attackers like Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial. However, his defence has lacked not only style but quality as well.
He no longer has the services of players like John Terry or Javier Zanetti who will win him league titles by keeping clean sheets match after match. At United, he has had to make do in his defence with the Portuguese opting to use two wingers as full-backs rather than trust the actual defenders designated for the job.
His central defenders’ list includes players like Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Daley Blind, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly. Baily is certainly the brightest of the lot but the player has proven to be injury prone. As for Lindelof, the Swedish international has been unable to step in and needs more time to adjust to the English game.
The other three have been at the club for quite some time now but has not been able to deliver performances up to the standards expected by United and Mourinho. This is why a new, quality defender, especially someone like an Umtiti is required rather badly at Old Trafford.
