Man Utd lining up £30m January move for La Liga centre-back

Posted Saturday, November 05, 2016 by givemesport.com

Five months into his tenure as Manchester United manager and Jose Mourinho has well and truly discovered the scale of the task that faces him.

The Portuguese probably thought spending £150 million in the summer would solve his problems, especially so on the world-class likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

However, what's become abundantly clear is that a long road to recovery awaits both United and Mourinho, who has a lot of work to do.

A mass exodus is widely expected in the next couple of transfer windows, with Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian, Phil Jones, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Morgan Schneiderlin, Michael Carrick, Memphis Depay and Ashley Young likely to face the chop.

Selling those eight players would give Mourinho a lot of room for new additions, not to mention he would have the full financial backing of United's hierarchy.

And according to The Sun, the Portuguese is plotting a £30 million move for one of Europe's finest centre-back's in January.

The report claims Mourinho wants to sign Atletico Madrid's Diego Godin to shore up his leaky defence and partner one of Eric Bailly or Chris Smalling.

Godin, 30, has spent six successful years in the Spanish capital but is available for £30 million - which United are willing to meet.

The Uruguayan defender also wants £70,000-per-week wages which, again, isn't a problem for the Red Devils.

Capturing Godin would be an excellent coup for Mourinho, whose side currently lack leadership and passion despite having the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney and Smalling.

But there's a small issue. While Atletico would be helpless if United indeed lodged a £30 million bid, much would depend on whether Godin even wants a move to Old Trafford.

Atletico are expected to challenge for both La Liga and the Champions League this season, so there's reason to suggest he wouldn't fancy leaving in January.

Worse still for United, they're in the Europa League and struggling to mount a genuine Premier League title bid, which will only worsen their chances of signing Godin.

Desperate times call for desperate measures, as the saying goes.