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Fabinho is one of many Monaco players reportedly leaving the Stade Louis II this summer. After Bernardo Silva left to join Manchester City last week for a fee of around £43million, reports are also circulating that left-back Benjamin Mendy could be joining Silva at the Etihad stadium within the next few weeks.
According to The Sun, Manchester United are reportedly leading the race to sign the Brazilian midfielder, and Jose Mourinho is determined not to miss out on Fabinho after narrowly missing out on the signing of Bernardo Silva.
Mourinho’s side have looked light in midfield this season after they sold Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger in the January 2017 window. Marouane Fellaini has certainly been a beneficiary of that but is not really a first team player and Michael Carrick who has signed a new contract with the club is at the twilight of his career.
Mourinho has made signing a midfield enforcer a priority this summer. According to numerous reports, United have been linked with various midfielders around Europe over the past few weeks: Radja Nainggolan of Roma, Eric Dier of Tottenham, Fabinho and Tiemoue Bakayoko, both of Monaco and even Nemanja Matic from Chelsea.
Should United get any of those targets, it would send a clear signal of intent from Mourinho that he means business. The signing of Fabinho would be a boost not only for the club in the midfield department but also personally for Paul Pogba, the presence of Fabinho behind him in a probable midfield trio would allow the French superstar to focus on being the player he was for Juventus at Old Trafford. In his time in Turin, he had the likes of Andrea Pirlo and Claudio Marchisio beside him to do the dirty work which in turn allowed him to truly play his best football.
Fabinho has been a massive presence in the Monaco midfield this season playing alongside either Bakayoko or Joao Moutinho. The 23-year-old ex-Real Madrid man has played for Monaco since 2014 and netted 10 times for Leonardo Jardim’s side this season with 4 assists to boot. A fantastic return for the midfielder who has enjoyed his best season in a Monaco shirt. Reports are suggesting that the Brazilian will complete his move when he gets back from holiday with rumours also saying that he has become frustrated that his team-mates and “best friends” Bernardo Silva and Benjamin Mendy were allowed to leave the club.
United have also been interested in the services of Eric Dier from Tottenham who has been instrumental in much of Tottenham’s success this season, it is believed that Mourinho is a huge admirer of the former Sporting Lisbon midfielder but any deal for him would be unlikely because of the frosty relationship between Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and the United board.
Fabinho would definitely add some much needed steel and security to Mourinho’s midfielder if the deal was to go through. United would need to act quickly if they are to get their man as Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the Brazilian but it is said that he prefers a move to Old Trafford.
Mourinho experimented with his midfield on a number of occasions last season with a 3-4-3, 4-2-3-1 and a 4-3-3 set up, and Fabinho’s adaptability and versatility would prove useful, with the Brazilian also able to play at full-back or even wing-back.
Juventus were also reported to have had an interest in Fabinho but they recently pulled out of the running which allows the two Manchester clubs to battle it out for his signature. Pep Guardiola is fully focused on strengthening his defence and full-back positions, with Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy his main targets, which could give United a real opportunity to land the Brazilian.
Fabinho would represent a steady addition to the United overhaul this summer, he is physically imposing and tactically sound, two traits Mourinho is known to admire.
Written by Anthony Onifade
Follow Anthony on twitter @antzhumbleent
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