- Man Utd and Man City to battle it out for defensive target
- Red Devils linked with £20m bid to re-sign former player
- Case could be made that Mourinho doesn’t need to strengthen in that department
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With so many defenders at his disposal already, reports of Man Utd interest in a move for Jonny Evans don’t seem to make too much sense.
Jose Mourinho already has Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling as options at the back, and so it would appear as though he’s pretty well covered in that department albeit he has had injury problems throughout this season.
Nevertheless, it’s surely not enough to warrant signing another central defender, but according to The Mirror, that’s exactly what he could be looking at this month.
It’s claimed that Man Utd are keen on a £20m reunion with former centre-half Jonny Evans, with the 30-year-old continuing to be linked with an exit from West Bromwich Albion.
In contrast, it’s added that Man City are also interested in the Northern Irish international, which makes more sense given Pep Guardiola arguably needs to add another defender to his squad.
John Stones has just returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines while Vincent Kompany continues to suffer setbacks.
As a result, that leaves Guardiola lighter than he would like with Nicolas Otamendi and Eliaquim Mangala stepping in, especially given that his side are still competing on four fronts this season.
While Evans would add experience, leadership, a winning mentality and a sense of understanding the culture and expectations at United given his previous stint, it remains to be seen whether or not a £20m return to Old Trafford materialises.
What does seem pretty certain though is his exit from the Baggies, with the two Manchester clubs seemingly at the forefront of the battle for his signature this month.