Reports: Manchester United have sealed a deal to sign top summer-target
What's the rumour?
Manchester United have a deal in place to sign highly-rated 29-year-old Belgian centre-back Toby Alderweireld and are waiting for Tottenham to secure a replacement, reports say.
Alderweireld who has been Jose Mourinho’s No. 1 target all summer and looks set to join the club after a compromise between the clubs was reached for the fee which was initially set at £75million.
However, Goal claim Alderweireld’s Old Trafford switch will not be confirmed until Spurs have signed a replacement.
In case you didn't know...
Premier League giants Manchester United have been linked with a number of top-class defenders in this transfer window as Jose Mourinho plans to mount a serious title challenge and rival Manchester City to the EPL trophy.
The Red Devils have been recently linked with Leicester City defender Harry Maguire whose asking price was set at £80 million after his fantastic contributions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup which led England to the semi-finals.
Jose Mourinho was unwilling to shell a high asking price for the 25-year-old Englishman and identified Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld as his top summer target who is on the last year of his contract and is keen to leave the North London club.
The heart of the matter
Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho raised concerns over the quality of his side after disappointing performances in the pre-season friendlies.
With the Premier League due to start in a few days, the Red Devils facing an uphill task of quickly blending their top stars returning from World Cup duties and the lack of transfer activity compared to his rivals, Jose Mourinho expressed concerns after his side's defeat to Bayern Munich is their final pre-season game: ‘My CEO knows what I want and I still have a few days to wait and see what happens,’ Mourinho said on MUTV. ‘The other clubs who compete with us are really strong and already have fantastic teams. Or they are investing massively like Liverpool, who are buying everything and everybody. ‘If we don’t make our team better it will be a difficult season for us.’
Manchester United have made only two major signings this summer, completing deals for the Brazilian midfielder Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk for an estimated £52 million and the English goalkeeper Lee Grant who was signed from Stoke City to be the club's third-choice option.
Rumour probability: 8/10
The Red Devils have been linked with several top-class defenders in the market like Harry Maguire, Yerry Mina and Jerome Boateng.
The English giants will have to wait for Tottenham to find a replacement before the deal is finalized.
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What's next?
The Premier League kicks off this Friday, with Manchester United taking on Leicester City. The transfer window shuts on Thursday night.