Jose Mourinho eyes £50m Man Utd raid on PL rivals to strengthen defence

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Looking at the statistics, it wouldn’t appear as though Man Utd have a glaring requirement to bolster their backline further this summer.

The Red Devils conceded just 28 goals in 38 Premier League games, just one more than champions Manchester City, to give them the second best defensive record in the top flight.

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Further, with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof vying for places in the starting line-up, Jose Mourinho appears to be pretty well covered in that department.

However, despite that argument to suggest that the Portuguese tactician should prioritise other areas of his squad, The Sun claim that Man Utd will try to prise Toby Alderweireld away from Tottenham this summer with a £50m bid and a big-money contract.

There’s no denying that the 29-year-old has established himself as an influential figure at Spurs, and one of the top centre-halves in the Premier League with his consistency and solid defensive displays.

He’s made 115 appearances for Tottenham since joining them in 2015, and although he has enjoyed a fundamental role under Mauricio Pochettino, the club haven’t been able to end their wait for major honours.

In turn, that could be a factor when Man Utd try to prise him away from north London, as they’re arguably in a better position to win trophies moving forward having landed the League Cup and Europa League last year, while making it to the FA Cup final this past season and also finishing as runners-up in the league.

Adding the likes of Alderweireld would certainly help them bridge the gap to the likes of Man City, but it remains to be seen if a deal comes to fruition this summer or not as Spurs will surely be desperate to keep one of their most important figures at the club and convince him to commit his future instead of leaving.

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