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Football

12th Aug 2015

Manchester United mere “details” away from solving their centre back problem

On the verge of being on the brink

Patrick McCarry

Details. Glorious, insidious, fastidious details.

Manchester United had not been linked to Valencia defender Nicolas Otamendi for a while [he enrolled his children in a local school for another year, for God’s sake] but all that changed this afternoon.

United are on the brink of a €30m deal for the Argentine, with a reporter with Valencia-based TV station SillasGol claiming to have seen the legal documents that confirm the deal [Translated tweet below].

Otamendi tweet

 

Otamendi is highly regarded as a defensive leader one in La Liga. He has an abrasive style and has kept star players such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo quiet – or as quiet as possible – in big games.

https://youtu.be/fJv6t7B3VNA

United started midfielder Daley Blind in the centre of their defence last weekend. Louis van Gaal has declared his confidence in Blind, in the position, but bringing in the 27-year-old would surely shore up a defence that has seen plenty of comings and goings in the past two years.

He signed for Valencia, from Porto, for €12m last summer and reportedly has a €50m release clause in his contract. United’s offer, if it officially comes, will be well short of that figure so there remains some haggling to… haggle.

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