Man Utd Tipped to Shelve Plans to Buy New Left-Back & Instead Hunt for Romelu Lukaku Backup
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been tipped to temporarily shelve his summer plans of pursuing a new left-back in order to bring in a another central striker as an understudy and back up to Romelu Lukaku instead.
It was thought that United, who have already landed midfielder Fred and right-back Diogo Dalot this month and are chasing centre-back Toby Alderweireld, would complete their summer business with the addition of a new first choice left-back - Alex Sandro of Juventus has been the primary rumoured target, although Danny Rose and Kieran Tierney have been mentioned.
But, according to The Independent, Mourinho is prepared to stick with Luke Shaw and Ashley Young as his left-back options for now if it means being able to redirect some of the transfer budget towards signing a new forward.
While former winger Young has become a reliable figure in his new defensive role, Shaw has famously failed to flourish under Mourinho's management. The United boss also recently claimed it is not his intention to let utility player Daley Blind leave the club either.
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United are already fairly flush with attacking talents to support Lukaku, with Mourinho able to call on the likes of Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez. Yet with all three mostly used in wide or deeper areas by United, Mourinho is said to want a more 'like for like' alternative.
The Independent's report notes that United are still in the phase of 'exploring options', but names West Ham's Marko Arnautovic, a player Mourinho has personally scouted this month and formerly worked with at Inter, and Juventus front man Mario Mandzukic.
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Mandzukic in particular, who turned 32 years of age last month, is a proven reliable goalscorer. He has managed double figures in front of goal in every season of his career bar his debut year as a professional with NK Zagreb way back in 2005/06 and has won trophies in four countries.
