Barcelona snubbed in approach to sign Manchester United defender
According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United recently rejected an offer by Barcelona for Victor-Lindelof?utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-” onclick=”sr_record_analytics_event(‘newsfeed_click’,”, sr_record_directory(),’sr_tracker’);”>Victor Lindelof.
The Blaugrana have missed out on an opportunity to sign Ajax starlet Matthijs de Ligt, and have started looking elsewhere for defensive reinforcements.
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19-year-old Dutchman de Ligt is reportedly very close to joining Juventus. Barca was the favourite to sign him earlier this summer, having already captured the signature of his club and national teammate Frenkie de Jong.
Ernesto Valverde is keen on signing a center back in the current transfer window. His team was often poor in defense last season – Samuel Umtiti was sidelined for long periods due to injury, leaving Barcelona with just Gerard Pique and Clement Lenglet.
The lack of personnel at the back led to the signing of Jean-Clair Todibo from Toulouse in January.
Manchester United was also shockingly poor defensively in the previous campaign, leading to a very disappointing 6th placed finish in the Premier League.
24-year-old Lindelof, however, was a silver lining. The Sweden international had struggled for form in his first season at Old Trafford, but drastically improved in his second one.
He was one of the first names on the team sheet for both Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
The Norwegian will be hoping to build his defense for next season around Lindelof.
It comes as no surprise that United swiftly rejected Barca’s offer for the defender. The Red Devils are also in the market for a center back, and really can’t afford to lose the services of one of their best players.
Lindelof does tick all the boxes for Barca. He’s a tactically astute defender who doesn’t need to fly into tackles to win the ball. He’s also really good at building play out from the back, as he often did after the appointment of Solskjær.
He reportedly caught the attention of Valverde during Manchester United’s Champions League quarterfinal tie against Barcelona last season.
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Meanwhile, De Ligt continues to be linked with Barcelona, but it looks increasingly likely that he’ll end up in the Serie A. Valverde will have to turn elsewhere to strengthen his defense.