Manchester United are reportedly preparing a €28million bid for Fulham left-back Ryan Sessegnon.
According to The Guardian, Jose Mourinho is prepared to allow Luke Shaw leave Old Trafford as he pursues a deal for the promising 17-year-old.
Sessegnon is no stranger to interest from big clubs. The England youth international has been scouted by Real Madrid in the past, while Liverpool and Tottenham are both thought to have a concrete interest in him. Spurs even had a bid rejected for him in the summer, but Mourinho is determined to edge out United’s Premier League rivals and land the much-hyped prospect.
Should United win the race for Sessegnon’s signature, Spurs are expected to revive their interest in Shaw. The 22-year-old has struggled to convince Mourinho that he can be United’s long-term first-choice left-back, even though the former Southampton man impressed in recent games against CSKA Moscow and Bournemouth.
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While United fans continue to feel uncomfortable with Mourinho’s opinion of Shaw, an attempt to sign Sessegnon must be recognised as a smart move. Sessegnon is currently regarded as one of English football’s brightest prospects. He broke into the first-team at Fulham when he was barely 16 and has developed enormously since making his league debut in August 2016.
Although primarily a left-back, Sessegnon is capable of operating further up the pitch, a versatility which is attractive to a manager like Mourinho who likes to switch between a three-man and four-man defence. With Ashley Young now 32 and Shaw likely to depart in search of regular first-team football, it’s only natural that Mourinho is making plans to strengthen in an area United have often struggled with.
Matteo Darmian has largely disappointed in his two years at Old Trafford and is widely expected to move on in January, with Napoli strongly linked. Daley Blind has been converted from a central midfielder to a full-back during his time at United but his lack of pace is an obvious weakness which opponents frequently target.
Neville is right about United's recruitment, but the problem pre-dated Mourinho. For @SportsJOEdotiehttps://t.co/QjqMZo3ABz
— Matt Gault (@MattGault11) December 17, 2017
It’s intriguing, though, that Sessegnon’s long-term future appears to be as a left winger, not at left-back. He has been used mainly as part of the back four by Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic this season but has shown his devastating potential in attack when deployed on the wing, scoring a hat-trick in the Cottagers’ thrilling 5-4 win over Sheffield United in November.
That exhilarating snapshot was just an inkling of Sessegnon’s attacking promise. Mourinho, like many other managers, has clearly been impressed. The Portuguese coach has given United’s recruitment a sense of focus in the last 18 months and signing a player of Sessegnon’s potential would only enhance United’s planning for the future.
Regardless of what position Mourinho considers Sessegnon’s strongest, the Fulham youngster fits the profile of the type of player United need to sign if they are to challenge Manchester City’s supremacy in the Premier League.
