It says much about the state of Manchester United’s defence and the complete disarray that currently surrounds the club’s centre backs that the above headline could be realistically be referring to as many of four different options whose futures are currently unclear at Old Trafford. In this instance, The Mirror are reporting that Everton are interested in bringing Victor Lindelof to Goodison Park this summer.
Marco Silva, recently installed as Toffees boss after replacing Sam Allardyce, is thought to favour the Swede, and is reportedly keen on bringing the former Benfica defender to Merseyside. The 23-year old made 29 appearances for Jose Mourinho’s side this season gone, and struggled to hold down a regular place in the side, with the Portuguese manager favouring Chris Smalling and Phil Jones as the season drew to a close.
Lindelof has certainly had an awkward start to life at United; he made several glaring errors against Huddersfield Town in the season’s early offing as Mourinho’s men slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat in Yorkshire, but looked more than at home during the club’s Champions League fixtures, and impressed with his ball carrying. Lindelof, like several of his colleagues, appears to be a victim of his manager’s lack of planning, as Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo round out the quintet of experienced centre backs that Mourinho now possesses. There’s no indication of the maligned Smalling or Jones leaving, and with Marcos Rojo signing a new deal and the club reportedly interested in Sevilla’s Clement Lenglet alongside Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld, the centre of United’s defence looks remarkably messy.
Bailly and Lindelof both deserve longer to prove themselves, given their obvious talent. The former has been unlucky with injuries, whilst the latter surely just needs more time and games to adjust to life in English football, something his manager should surely give him. If not, Lindelof doesn’t appear to be short of suitors if that report is anything to go by.
