Manchester United reach pre-contract agreement with new defender

Manchester United look set to land Victor Lindelof in the summer after reaching a pre-contract agreement with the Benfica defender, according to Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb.

Jose Mourinho’s side had been heavily linked with a move for Lindelof in the January transfer window before shelving their pursuit following the fine form shown by the likes of Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones during their resurgence.

Lindelof remains high in Mourinho’s thoughts as he keeps one eye on their summer transfer activity and United appear to have moved ahead of Roma in the pursuit of the Sweden international.

United still have some way to go to secure his services but a pre-contract agreement would at least suggest the 22-year-old wants to move to Old Trafford, which now leaves the Premier League giants to negotiate a price with Benfica.

Roma are poised to lose Kostas Manolas to one of their main rivals at the end of the season and had identified Lindelof as his ideal replacement, although they may now have to look elsewhere for his successor.

No player has completed more passes in their own half of the pitch in the Portuguese Liga NOS this season than Lindelof (733).

For more stats on Victor Lindelof, click here to visit his WhoScored player page