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Fabrizio Romano believes that Victor Lindelof will not be leaving Manchester United this summer, despite reported interest from Atletico Madrid and Inter Milan.
Lindelod has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford, having been displaced by summer signing Lisandro Martinez.
The Argentine has forged an excellent partnership with Raphael Varane which has been the bedrock of some fantastic defensive performances under Erik ten Hag.
As a result, Lindelof has accrued just 540 minutes of Premier League football this season and has mostly been used as cover when Varane has been in need of a rest.
Atletico approached United for the Swede in January, while Inter Milan are in need of a defensive reshuffle with several players – among them Paris Saint-Germain-bound Milan Skriniar – set to move on in the summer.
But Romano believes that neither club stands much of a chance of signing Lindelof during the next transfer window.
“Atletico Madrid asked for Victor Lindelof in January but then they decided to proceed with Caglar Soyuncu deal; Inter are on different targets now,” Romano told CaughtOffside.
“I’m sure Erik ten Hag is happy with Lindelof and will try to keep the player as he did in January. I’m not sure Man United will let him leave, in January it was a big “no”.”
Keeping the centre back at the club does make a certain degree of sense in light of United’s other transfer priorities.
Currently, Varane, Martinez, and Lindelof are joined by Harry Maguire as the cohort of senior central defenders in the squad.
The United captain could well be leaving Old Trafford in the summer in the pursuit of first team football as he looks to keep his place in the England squad.
That would likely leave Ten Hag in need of another defender already. Allowing Lindelof to leave would make reinforcements at the back as far more pressing concern, which would be far from ideal given the Red Devils’ desperate need to add quality at the other end of the pitch.
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