Manchester United have spent a large part of this summer attempting to secure a new centre back for manager Jose Mourinho. Despite the captures of Fred, Diogo Dalot and Lee Grant, coupled with the fact that the Portuguese is currently in possession of five senior central defenders, the former Chelsea boss has been intent on adding a commanding presence with experience to his ranks this summer. Tottenham Hotspur’s Toby Alderweireld has been repeated linked with the club for the last several months, with Leicester City’s Harry Maguire also rumoured to be a target after an impressive display for England during this summer’s World Cup.
Another possibility that has been floated during this transfer window has been Jerome Boateng. The Bayern Munich defender, who has been at the club since 2011 after a single season at Manchester City, is no longer thought to be an essential part of the German club’s plans, and they have reportedly been open to selling him as a result. United are said to have opened negotiations regarding a transfer this weekend, as the teams played each other at the Allianz Arena in a friendly.
There appeared to be some differences in valuation, which hardly helped, with Bayern wanting close to €50m and United only wanting to cough up close to €30m. Yet the transfer would now appear to be dead in the water after the player, according to The Guardian, is said to have called Mourinho himself, thanked him for the club’s interest but advised the United manager that he won’t be moving to Manchester.
This represents a blow to United, even if it seemed as if they weren’t seriously negotiating with Bayern due to the low nature of their opening bid. Boateng, despite fears over his fitness and a sub-par performance in Russia this summer is still a top class defender, and with no deal seemingly close to completion for Alderweireld, it appears as if United won’t be adding to their squad prior to the transfer window closing on Thursday.
