Manchester United transfer news: Target Jose Fonte to stay put at Southampton while Juan Mata settles his future

All the latest transfer news and rumours from Old Trafford on Friday 26 August

Jose Fonte will be staying put at Southampton despite interest from Manchester United (Getty)

Manchester United target Jose Fonte will stay put at Southampton after agreeing to a considerable pay-rise.

Jose Mourinho was eager to boost his United backline by bringing his compatriot Fonte to Old Trafford in an £8m transfer but it seems the Portuguese defender has agreed to stay at St Mary’s, the Daily Mirror reports.

Fonte will see his wages increase from £45,000-a-week to £70,000. Speaking to the press, Saints boss Claude Puel said: “The situation of Jose is now finished and he is back to normal.

"[He] is now concentrating just on his football and his team. He had a good discussion with the director of football, with the chairman and now everything is all OK.

“For Jose it was important for us, for me, to keep him in the squad because he is a good personality, a good professional and has good leadership qualities.”

Midfielder Juan Mata has reached an understanding with Mourinho over his future at the club, according to the Daily Star.

It’s claimed that the Spaniard has accepted that he will not start for the Portuguese with Henrikh Mkhitaryan expected to finally cement a starting position in the side in the coming weeks.

Although Mata won’t be leaving the club prior to the transfer deadline on Wednesday, it’s believed his position at Old Trafford will be reviewed later in January.

Meanwhile, United have been told it will cost them at least £25m if they want to land Monaco defender Fabinho. The Premier League side have been tracking the Brazilian in recent weeks, claim TalkSport.

Although Monaco are under no pressure to sell, £25m could be enough to bring the player dubbed the "new Dani Alves" by the French media to Old Trafford.

The Manchester Evening News has claimed that United made another attempt this summer to sign Raphael Varane, offering to more than double the player’s annual salary at the Bernabeu.

However, Zinedine Zidane – whose intervention ensured Varane moved to Madrid five years ago – convinced him to stay put at the La Liga giants.