Man Utd join Chelsea, PL rivals in transfer scrap for £20m defensive solution

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Not content with the current options at his disposal, it’s been claimed that Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho is eyeing a move for Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij.

The Red Devils look to be covered in that department with Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo all competing for places already.

However, according to Il Messagero, via The Express, it’s claimed that Mourinho is in the market to add another with De Vrij capturing his attention.

He will face competition from Chelsea and Liverpool though, as per the report, with the side winning the race for his signature potentially having to splash out £20m as he could sign a new contract with a release clause.

Perhaps a case could be made for United needing to tighten things up at the back further, but on paper, it’s Liverpool who are arguably most in need of a player like De Vrij.

The Reds splashed out a whopping £75m on Virgil van Dijk last month, as per BBC Sport, but ultimately one player won’t solve their defensive woes as they’ve conceded 31 goals in 26 league games so far this season.

That’s almost double the number United have let in, while Chelsea’s problems are at the other end of the pitch as they have a respectable total of 23 goals conceded.

Time will tell who wins the race to sign De Vrij, if he even chooses to leave the Italian capital at all, but as for the Lazio star himself, he has established himself as a fine centre-half in Serie A after putting a serious injury behind him to become a pivotal figure in the Lazio backline.

In turn, he would certainly strengthen any defence, but pairing him with his compatriot at Anfield surely seems to be the most sensible move.

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