Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that Victor Lindelof will be making his debut for the Red Devils during the Champions League encounter against Basel.
Manchester United splashed around £31million to acquire the services of Victor Lindelof from Benfica this summer and given the huge price tag, a lot is certainly expected from the Swedish international.
The initial signs have not been promising though as Lindelof struggled during pre-season and following another shaky performance in the UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid, the 23-year-old has not featured at all for the Red Devils so far in the Premier League.
One of the main reasons why Lindelof has not featured is due to the fact that the duo of Phil Jones and Eric Bailly have been very solid at the heart of the backline over the past three matches and Lindelof will surely have to make a strong impression in order to break into the starting lineup.
Manager Jose Mourinho has now gone on to give an update regarding Lindelof and has revealed that the young defender will surely feature for United soon; with the Champions League opener against Basel at Old Trafford in two weeks’ time being earmarked as his debut.
Mourinho said, “Eric is playing really well. I have to say Smalling is in very good conditions and I have also to say Victor is improving every day.
“So, as you know, against Basel Jones and Eric are both suspended, so against Basel we will play Victor and Smalling and no problem at all. The squad is good and the mentality of the players is very good too. Eric is playing really well, I have to say [Chris] Smalling is in very good conditions and I have also to say Victor [Lindelof] is improving every day.
“I brought in 2004 a phenomenal central defender to England in [Ricardo] Carvalho, he was one of the best central defenders in the last decade of the Premier League, but he struggled, it was difficult for him to come and adapt to the beginning and I think Victor needs a little bit of time and he’s going to have that time.
“Mkhitaryan is not a defender and last season he needed his time, so let’s go step by step, because Victor is a fantastic player.”
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