Man Utd target former Chelsea defender to replace Harry Maguire in the summer

Man Utd have identified AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori as a possible replacement for Harry Maguire, according to reports.

The Red Devils will be concentrating most of their efforts on signing a new centre-forward in the summer transfer market with Erik ten Hag still looking for a permanent replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, who left at the end of November after a controversial interview with Piers Morgan.

However, there are strong rumours that both Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof could leave Old Trafford in the summer with Ten Hag having a preferred centre-back partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane.

And Man Utd would then look to bring in another centre-back if that was the case with the Daily Mail claiming that Man Utd are ‘keeping tabs’ on Tomori, who helped AC Milan to the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night.

Tomori left Chelsea on loan to AC Milan in 2021 before the Serie A giants made the move permanent the next summer with the England international won the Scudetto in his first season.

Opportunities had been limited at Chelsea with Tomori going on a number of loan spells to Brighton, Hull City and Derby County before heading to Milan.

The Daily Mail claim that Tomori’s ‘impressive season has garnered attention from Manchester United and Tottenham’ as they look to strengthen their defences.

As reasons why Man Utd would want to sign Tomori, the newspaper adds that Varane ‘has struggled with fitness issues over the last two years and Maguire’s future at the club is far from certain.’

Unsurprisingly Milan are ‘keen to keep Tomori’ at the San Siro and the report adds that ‘it will take a huge offer to lure him away’ from the Italian giants.

Maguire has struggled for regular game time this season, although he is getting a run in the team at the moment due to injuries, and former Man Utd striker Louis Saha reckons he needs to leave.

Speaking in February, Saha told Paddy Power: “Harry Maguire must look for a move away from Manchester United because his form is going to drop as he won’t play much.

“The way United play at the back, dominating and playing forward-thinking football, Maguire takes too many touches, and they lose the opportunity to attract the opponent onto them. That’s what happens when your confidence is low.

“We see it when opponents try to press Raphael Varane or Lisandro Martinez, they can cope with ease, unlike Maguire. It’s difficult seeing the club captain not playing, but he still has a smile on his face.

“No one will be annoyed at him for wanting to play more minutes as he’s also a very important player for England. He needs minutes and his style would suit a team who are very compact defensively and hit teams on the counter.

“But right now, United need a very composed and agile player at the back, able to maintain the quality going forwards. If Maguire wants to stay, he has to improve very quickly and take any opportunity he gets in the team.

“It’s a big challenge for Maguire. He can play for Manchester United but given the players ahead of him in the team, he’s not going to get the minutes he needs if he wants to remain at the top.”

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