Manchester United linked with €30m move for Brazilian defender

Reports in France have linked Manchester United with a €30 million move for Monaco’s Brazilian right-back Fabinho.

New United manager José Mourinho has already secured the signings of Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and the club are thought to be working hard to seal a potential £100 million deal for Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.

But it seems Mourinho is not done spending just yet, with a move for the 22-year-old defender on the cards.

Fabinho has been at Monaco since 2013, although he only signed permanently for the club last summer, after a successful two-year loan deal from Portuguese club Rio Ave.

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Prior to joining the Ligue 1 side, Fabinho had a season-long loan at Real Madrid, where he made only one La Liga appearance and featured predominently for the Spanish club’s B team.

Fabinho is a four-cap Brazil international, and, in typical Brazilian full-back style, he loves to get forward and join the attack.

But the 6ft 2in defender is also very positionally aware and responsible defensively, and can even play as a central defensive midfielder — having done so at Champions League-level for Monaco.

Blessed with tremendous pace and athleticism, Fabinho is a force to be reckoned with at both ends of the pitch. Last season, the talented full-back scored eight goals (all of which from the penalty spot) and registered five assists.

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United signed Italian right-back Matteo Darmian from Torino last summer but, despite some encouraging early displays, the 26-year-old has thus far failed to truly convice — however, this could be largely attributed to the positional shifting that he was subjected to under Louis van Gaal last season.

If Fabinho were to be signed, it would likely be due to Mourinho judging either Darmian, Antonio Valencia or Phil Jones as surplus to requirements.