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Manchester United could be about to revive their interest in Benfica defender Victor Lindelof after Jose Mourinho refused to say whether he wanted the player so not to disrespect the Portuguese club.
United were heavily linked with a £35m deal for the Swede in January, with his countryman Zlatan Ibrahimovic talking up the prospect of the transfer.
Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes also met with Benfica’s president Luis Filipe Vieira to discuss the move in the Lowry Hotel where Mourinho stays.
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The move failed to prevail but it could now happen this summer after Mourinho was questioned on him while giving a lecture while on holiday in Lisbon.
“I will not say if I want him or not, I think it’s incorrect [to talk about him],” a smiling Mourinho said.
“Rui is not going to be happy with another club manager talking about a player who is his, and the president would not be happy to see that.
“Lindelof is theirs and as long as he’s theirs, he’s theirs.”
With uncertainty around David De Gea’s future and the Antoine Griezmann deal now dead in the water, Mourinho’s transfer plans need to be adjusted, with a central striker still top of his wish list.
However, the Portuguese has insisted he is not involved in any dealings at the moment and has left it to executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward after claiming he got “fed up and tired of football”.
“I got fed up and tired of football before the last day,” he said. “I promised that they would not see me in football stadiums, and I stopped negotiating for players and being worried.
“I gave my list to the CEO in April and he has until August 31 to give me what I want or not.”
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