Jose Mourinho made some superb additions to his squad in the summer transfer window before the start of the new season.
The manager added the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly to his squad in the summer and has managed to improve the quality in the squad two-fold from the previous season.
However, in the last few days of the transfer window, the manager was looking at certain options to add to his back line as it was clear that he is not happy with the current options in the squad.
The likes of Chris Smalling and Bailly have managed to put in decent performances at the center back position but the manager knows that he needs a stronger defense to challenge for the title this season and has been keeping tabs on few of his summer transfer targets, two months into the new season.
One such player who has now alerted the Red Devils is Southampton defender Jose Fonte.
Manchester United were reportedly close to agreeing on a deal with the 32-year old who would have added loads of experience to the back line at the club.
However, Mourinho was not able to reach an agreement with the Saints over his transfer leaving Fonte at the St Marys for another year.
Claude Puel, who revealed that Fonte is integral to his plans at his new club is not yet ready let the club captain go but he was dealt a blow after comments from the player were revealed earlier today.
According to reports, Puel wants to extend the Portuguese international’s contract with the club and was hoping to keep him at the club for another couple of years.
At 32, Fonte does not have too many years of top-flight football left in him and Southampton are currently in need of an experienced player to lead their line, which Fonte has done well in the recent season.
This has seen the club offer their skipper a new £70,000-a-week deal that will make him one of the highest-paid players at the club.
It looked like the extension was enough to keep Fonte at the club but it is now understood that the 32-year old has played down all such contract talks.
In a recent interview with the media, Fonte revealed that there was no new deal on the table for him to sign and that they are a long way from striking a new deal.
the defender said: “There’s nothing on the table, so I’m waiting. I’ll see what happens. I’m just focusing on performing and we’ll see what happens.
“We haven’t agreed anything, it’s just talks.”
These comments have put the Red Devils on high alert with Mourinho still desperate for defensive additions. Do you think Fonte will move to Manchester United in January or next summer?