Manchester United could have attempted to raid Premier League rivals Newcastle United to bring centre-back and captain Lascelles to Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho had identified Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles as the potential solution to Manchester United’s defensive problems, according to ESPN.
Mourinho’s miserable reign at Old Trafford came to an end in December and United have gone from strength to strength ever since, with caretaker boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer guiding them into the top four after a run of ten wins in 11 domestic fixtures.
Much-maligned centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones are two players who have improved massively under Solskjaer, producing the kind of performances that looked beyond them under the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss.
It is no secret that Mourinho was desperate to sign another big-money centre-back with ESPN reporting that Lascelles was on his list of targets alongside Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly and Inter Milan’s Milan Skriniar.
Newcastle can probably sleep easy now, however, and not just because Mourinho is gone.
The former Nottingham Forest youngster signed a new six-year deal as recently as November, seemingly committing his future to St James’ Park despite Newcastle’s struggles at the bottom end of the Premier League table under Rafa Benitez.
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