Manchester United could reportedly have to spend over £50m to sign Benfica defender Victor Lindelof as the Swedish ace could sign a new deal with the club.
As noted by O Jogo, a £38m fee was expected to take the 22-year-old to Old Trafford, but he could now sign a new contract with Benfica which in turn would raise his release clause fee.
Jose Mourinho has seemingly made strengthening his defence a priority in the January transfer window, and it appeared as though he was ready to land his man.
Instead, he’ll have to now hope that the United hierarchy are willing to splash out a little more on Lindelof, while also covering his reported £58,000-a-week wages.
Benfica will need to pay the Swede’s former club 20 percent of any future fee for the defender and so Vasteras will certainly benefit from the increased price-tag too. Although, there is currently a disagreement between the two parties with the Portuguese giants refusing to pay them.
United will hope that the situation can be sorted out sooner rather than later, as Mourinho will want to add Lindelof to his squad as soon as the January transfer window opens for business.
Eric Bailly will be absent next month due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, while that means Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones will likely continue to deputise.
While the pair have done well in recent weeks and have given United a solid platform, it’s clear that Mourinho wants more quality in defence, and Lindelof appears to fit the bill but could now face a delay before his switch to Manchester is completed as expected.