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The first thing Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag did when he took over was strengthen the leaky defence by adding the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro to the squad.
The Dutchman has settled on a partnership of two World Cup winners — Raphael Varane and Martinez to shore up the defence with previous incumbents Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire finding game-time hard to come by.
In fact, for the England man, it has been a dramatic fall from grace as he is currently fifth-choice, behind left-back Luke Shaw. Reports have indicated that one of Maguire or the Swede could be offloaded next summer.
United could reshuffle at the back
That would necessitate bringing in an additional defender and there have been persistent links with the likes of Napoli’s Kim Min-jae, Jurrien Timber of Ajax, Portuguese stars Goncalo Inacio, Antonio Silva and Monaco’s Axel Disasi.
The latest Football Insider report has added a new and surprising name to the list — Mohammed Salisu of Southampton.
With the Saints on the verge of getting relegated, there is a lot of clamour for their young stars among Premier League clubs and Salisu is one who is generating a lot of interest.
It is not only United that are after his signature with Aston Villa and Leicester City also looking to sign him up on the cheap.
“Aston Villa are plotting to sign Southampton defender Mohammed Salisu this summer, sources have told Football Insider.
“Man United and Leicester City are also keen on Salisu who could be available for £25million in the summer,” the report mentioned.
Despite Southampton’s poor performances this season, Salisu has earned rave reviews and has made 28 appearances for Southampton across all competitions this season while providing one assist in those outings.
Salisu, a man in demand
The 23-year-old also featured for Ghana at the World Cup, managing to score his second goal for the national team in the process.
Being a left footed centre-half comfortable with the ball at his feet is an incentive that teams would love to have in their ranks and his low price point could make him a valuable under-study for Martinez.
The centre-back had come to St Mary’s back in 2020 from Spanish side Real Valladolid with his current deal running until 2024.
Southampton are aware of the interest in the defender and are open to negotiations especially considering their precarious position in the table.
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