Victor Lindelof Receives A Seal Of Approval From Teammates And Opponents Alike
Reuters / Wolfgang Rattay
Manchester United have recently announced an agreement for their first signing of the transfer season, in the form of Benfica defender Victor Lindelof.
Jose Mourinho has had his eyes on the player for quite some time now, and the deal, which is understood to be valued close to £30 million, has come after a lot of deliberation by the manager.
The 22-year-old has almost completed his move to Old Trafford, with medical and a certain few other formalities estimated to take place this week before the player is formally announced. He can be placed as the first piece in Manchester United’s plan to regain the Premier League and compete strongly in the Champions League.
While many look at this move with an eye of scepticism, considering the high valued transfer for a young player, a few other footballers believe otherwise.
Lindelof’s fellow compatriot for the Swedish National Team and Sunderland midfielder, Seb Larsson, only had good things to say about the new Red Devil.
Speaking to English media outlet The Sun, he stated: “You cannot deny his qualities. He has burst onto the scene and done superbly at club and international level. I’ve been so impressed by him whenever I’ve played with him.
“Not only does he have the quality on the pitch but he has a calm and sensible head on him as well. It goes without saying the Premier League and England is a completely different culture and he will have to handle that. And as long as people give him a bit of time to adjust, he will ultimately succeed at United.”
Reuters / Stefan Wermuth
However, it’s not just his teammates who have spoken well about the center-back. In fact, Robert Lewandowski, who faced off against Lindelof when Bayern Munich faced Benfica in the UEFA Champions League, was left utterly impressed by the young defender’s performance in the game.
Speaking about the Swede and his center-back partner after the game in 2016, the Polish striker went on to say they were among the best defensive pairs he has played against.
“They were very good. I did not know them in detail, but I can say that they were one of the best centre-back duos I’ve faced in the last year,” the Bayern talisman told Dario de Noticias.
Mourinho is now looking to create a similar pair using Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof. With Bailly already showing his potential in the games the gaffer has shown confidence in, the youthful pair can attempt to replicate the epic duo of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand at Manchester United.
Written by Srivats Venkateswaran 
Sports writer with a long experience of writing in football.Was football team head at EssentiallySports. Still deeply misses Sir Alex and Berbatov at United. An introvert at heart with a poetic hand. Engineer by choice, writer by passion.