Manchester United seem to have gone off to a flier as far as their January transfer window dealings are concerned. With Jose Mourinho taking over at Old Trafford it was expected that he will be offloading a number of players. But he probably asked for one transfer window to have a look at them from close quarters before deciding on the ones who had to leave.
Only last week, Mourinho reiterated that he felt some of the players did not get a chance to showcase their talents with the high intensity of the competition hardly affording any leeway to either the managers or the players to take a breather.
Players like Morgan Schneiderlin, Memphis Depay and Bastian Schweinsteiger have all been linked with imminent exits and while these will likely be the most prominent exits, there are a number of players who are likely to come into the fold at Old Trafford.
Victor Lindelof is apparently one of the players who was certain to join the club. But some internal dispute has resulted in the deal stagnating. While United wait on that front, they seem to have their priorities sorted and have initiated a process to strengthen a different area of their rear-guard.
Manchester United are lining up a £35million bid for Benfica right-back Nelson Semedo, according to reports. And this is a report which has actually got all the fans excited.
The move makes sense in the face of reports which linked Lindelof to United. A centre-back doesn’t seem to be the cause for concern of the Red Devils right now. The form of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo in central defence has probably persuaded manager Jose Mourinho that he does not need to buy. The Portuguese also has cover at centre-back in Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind.
But right-back is an area where United are actually short on options. Jose Mourinho doesn’t seem to be convinced by Darmian or Fosu-Mensah and has opted to utilise Antonio Valencia in that area. Although the Ecuadorian has been pretty impressive and is looking the part, Jose Mourinho prefers to have specialists, especially in defence.
Semedo has spent his entire professional career at the Estadio da Luz, making 42 senior appearances for Benfica, and United are ready to trigger his release clause as Jose Mourinho continues to strengthen his first-team squad.
At the age of 23, he has already established himself as one of the brightest prospects at right-back. His style has been likened to Dani Alves. A great dribbler and a really solid crosser of the ball, he is known to support the attack and push forward often. He has worked a lot on his defensive attributes lately and it is believed that Jose Mourinho can bring the best out of him.
United have shown that they are willing to back Jose Mourinho in the transfer market and this move seems like it might well be pulled off by the club.
