Man Utd have reportedly made a £30m bid for Benfica right-back Nelson Semedo, just a week or so after snapping up Victor Lindelof from the club.
For a team that boasted the second-best defensive record in the Premier League last season, it seems strange to be talking about them spending so much money on strengthening their backline.
However, Jose Mourinho has issues that need resolving. The first of which he’s done by bringing in a long-term defensive partner for Eric Bailly, while he has to have a long-term replacement for Antonio Valencia at right-back and just a solid defender in that spot in general to compete on various fronts next season.
According to The Sun, a move to Barcelona now looks unlikely for Semedo, but the 23-year-old is still a target for rivals Manchester City which could be a problem for Mourinho in the coming weeks as he looks to get a deal over the line.
Nevertheless, United are said to have made an offer of upwards of £30m, although conflicting reports in Portugal suggest that Pep Guardiola is ready to respond with a bid of his own as the two old rivals look set to battle it out for the promising Portuguese ace.
It’s also added in the report though that Kyle Walker and Dani Alves are two more names being linked with a move to the Etihad, and so Guardiola may not be entirely looking at Semedo as his only option.
Their need for a new right back is obvious though, perhaps more so than United, given that they released Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna and Jesus Navas this summer, and so desperately need to fill the role ahead of next season.