Jose Fonte is ready to snub a lucrative offer from Manchester United and sign a new contract with Southampton, according to reports from Daily Mirror. The Portuguese defender was heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford after Jose Mourinho had earmarked Fonte to be the final piece of his transfer jigsaw this summer.
Despite a strong win against the Saints, word is that Mourinho is still not convinced with United’s central defensive options and wanted Fonte to bring some much-needed experience to United’s back line. Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly are expected to be the first choice defenders this season with the injury prone Phil Jones and less physical Daley Blind as the other options.
That is where United were planning to make a late £8million bid on the deadline day for Fonte, which now looks out of the question. According to the Mirror, 33-year-old defender met with Southampton director of football Les Reed and chairman Ralph Krueger earlier this week and agreed to extend his stay at the St. Mary’s.
Perhaps the biggest reason for Fonte to snub Man United is the massive hike he will get in his new contract. The Mirror understands that Fonte will almost double his wage from £45,000 to £70,000-per-week. Fonte is also not guaranteed to play week in week out at Manchester United while he is the first choice centre back and Southampton’s captain at the moment.
Saints’ chairman, Ralph Krueger spoke with the Mirror on Thursday and explained Fonte’s U-turn and his decision to stay with the club. Krueger said: “The situation of Jose is now finished and he is back to normal. Jose 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."
What next for Mourinho?
Despite Fonte’s snub, the situation has not changed for Jose Mourinho and Manchester United who are still keen on bringing an extra defender to Old Trafford. AS Monaco’s right-back Fabinho is one of the most linked names with Manchester United with Marcos Rojo either heading in the opposite direction or a possible move to Valencia is on the cards.
With five days left in the summer transfer window, Manchester United are expected to make a late dart to give their new manager near perfect squad to go on and fight for the league title. Likes of Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan have already made this a very special transfer window for the Red Devils supporters but it could get even better in coming few days.
