Manchester United transfer news: Mourinho makes enquiry for £25m international to solve defensive headache

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Manchester United have reportedly made an enquiry with Benfica over the possibility of signing central defender Victor Lindelof.

Jose Mourinho has had his troubles at the back so far this season, with his side having the unwanted recognition of the joint-worst defensive record out of the top seven clubs in the Premier League.

According to Sky Sports, they’re ready to move to rectify the problem by trying to sign Lindelof, although there is one major condition to any transfer for the 22-year-old.

It’s claimed that United will only be able to sign the Swedish international if Benfica fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Portuguese giants are currently top of Group B along with Napoli and a point above Besiktas as they head into the final round of fixtures, and that situation will determine whether or not Mourinho can land his man in January.

It’s added that the United boss has been monitoring Lindelof since his arrival at Old Trafford this past summer, and it will take a fee of around £25m to prise him away from Benfica.

Mourinho’s problems at the back have been made worse by Eric Bailly’s recent spell on the sidelines due to injury, while the summer recruit will also be missing in January due to the African Cup of Nations.

Coupled with question marks over the fitness of Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw, and with Marcos Rojo not entirely convincing along with Phil Jones’ injury history, it’s evident that Mourinho wants more assurances in defence.

He’ll need some sort of boost as his side continue to toil in sixth place and have now fallen eight points adrift of the top four as they risk seeing their season end in disappointment already.

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