Man United defender set to land new Sh6 billion deal
Premier League
By
Mirror
| Aug 15, 2019
Manchester United are ready to hand defender Victor Lindelof a double-your-money contract extension worth £46.8million
United see Lindelof forming a long-term central defensive partnership with £80million new signing Harry Maguire and are ready to reward him with a deal that reflects his new-found worth.
Lindelof, a £30million signing from Benfica in 2017, has emerged as a first-choice pick after a shaky start to his United career and was courted by Barcelona this summer.
The 25-year-old Sweden international has two years left on his current £75,000-a-week deal, with an option for an extra 12 months.
United are ready to offer Lindelof a three-year extension worth £150,000-a-week that would keep him at Old Trafford until 2025 and total £46.8m in wages.
Lindelof and Maguire formed an impressive understanding in their first outing together, Sunday's 4-0 rout of Chelsea, with United believing they have their best central defensive partnership since Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.
It has emerged United ended their interest in Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes this summer because of concerns over the midfielder's tendency to give the ball away too frequently.
Portugal international Fernandes came to the attention of United and the rest of Europe's elite clubs during an impressive season which saw him plunder 23 goals for Sporting.
But it is understood United's recruitment team looked deeper at Fernandes and highlighted concerns over his habit of losing the ball, concluding it was too much of a risk to go for him.
Ultimately, United failed to sign a midfielder this summer, despite losing Marouane Fellaini in January and Ander Herrera at the end of last season as a free agent.
Despite that, Solskajer claimed to be happy with his midfield personnel, although United will look to recruit there next summer, with record signing Paul Pogba's long-term future still uncertain.