Transfer Centre

Manchester United 'cool interest in Nikola Milenkovic'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 10 January 2019

Manchester United reportedly cool their interest in Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic following Jose Mourinho's departure in December.

Manchester United have reportedly cooled their interest in signing Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.

The Red Devils are still understood to be in the market for defensive reinforcements after failing in their pursuit of a number of targets last summer - a situation which is thought to have created friction between Mourinho and the board.

Milenkovic was reportedly high up on Mourinho's wanted list for the current transfer window, but ESPN claims that the club have decided to prioritise other targets after Mourinho was sacked last month.

Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly has been repeatedly linked with a world-record £90m switch to Old Trafford, while Milan Skriniar and Toby Alderweireld have also been touted as possible options.

United will not end their interest in Milenkovic entirely, having scouted the 21-year-old on a number of occasions, but they are expected to look elsewhere first after consulting with interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 20-time English champions would ideally strengthen during the January transfer window but are willing to wait until summer if their targets are not available for a reasonable price.