Atletico Madrid were reportedly interested in signing Victor Lindelof from Manchester United but their move was rebuffed by the Old Trafford club.
Lindelof is into the final 18 months of his contract at the club but United have the option to extend his deal for an additional 12 months.
The Sweden captain has dropped down the pecking order under Erik ten Hag, with the Dutchman preferring Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. Now, journalist and transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there has been interest from abroad.
Atletico Madrid are negotiating with Wolves for Felipe — next step of the domino effect would be Atléti to sign Çağlar Söyüncü from #LCFC already in January. ⚪️🔴 #Atléti
Atletico also asked for Victor Lindelöf weeks ago but Man United rejected as Ten Hag wants to keep him. pic.twitter.com/bVPVaHa0GZ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 11, 2023
As per the reporter, the La Liga giants are on the hunt for a centre-back and Lindelof was said to be a target. Diego Simeone’s men’s interest was rejected out of hand, however, with Ten Hag intercepting it.
It’s claimed that Ten Hag is keen on keeping Lindelof at the club, with Atletico Madrid’s approach said to have been ‘weeks ago’.
SN’s verdict…
Lindelof’s future at United is undeniably hanging in the balance but Ten Hag is lacking depth in that area, making a January departure highly unlikely.
Ten Hag has, however, been handed unlikely cover in that department after Luke Shaw impressed in his three appearances as a centre-back.
That will most likely be a solution for emergencies only, with Lindelof and Harry Maguire still expected to play when Martinez and Varane are unavailable.