Manchester United have been linked once more with rising Benfica centre-back Victor Lindelof as doubts about the long-term suitability of the club's current defensive options continue to grow. But Benfica are not keen to sell and want the Swede tied down to a new contract.
Reports widely credit Portuguese outlet A Bola for suggesting that United manager Jose Mourinho is keeping an eye on Lindelof ahead of a potential January approach. The 22-year-old is thought to be a 'priority target' alongside Atletico Madrid talent Jose Gimenez.
Lindelof, who made the move to Lisbon from home-town club Vasteras SK in 2012, has previously been mentioned in the same breath as United at various points in the last few months, as well being linked to Chelsea, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain and Napoli.
His current release clause stands at €30m, a potentially reasonable price for a player of whom big things are expected, but Benfica are said to be keen to change that as soon as possible.
A report from O Jogo in Portugal claims that the Primeira Liga champions are looking to increase the value of the release trigger to €60m, doubling it in a bid to take Lindelof out of the immediate reach of what seems to be a growing list of suitors.
The current deal is due to expire in 2020, but Benfica would also tack another 12 months onto it to strengthen their negotiating position and ability to hold on to Lindelofeven more.
For United, the problems at centre-back at Old Trafford continue. Chris Smalling was widely reported on Friday to have suffered a broken toe, with many calling Mourinho's recent criticism of the player's apparent recent unwillingness to play an embarrassment to the club.
Yet despite such claims originating from the BBC and the Daily Mail, a club source told Reuters that the Mail story has no truth to it, while refusing to clarify anything else.United's partial denial of the injury is odd and also raises fresh doubt over Mourinho's motives towards Smalling.
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