Soon-to-be Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has placed Manchester United stalwart Diogo Dalot at the top of his wishlist at right-back, according to reports in Spain.
Thirteen years after his first spell at the Bernabeu was brought to an end, Mourinho is preparing to step down from his post at Benfica and return to the Spanish capital for another bite at the cherry.
Mourinho has reportedly reached a verbal agreement over a two-year contract with Los Blancos and is expected to take over the reins from Alvaro Arbeloa once the club have concluded their campaign at home to Athletic Bilbao this weekend.
As well as overseeing an upturn in results and performances on the pitch, it will be Mourinho’s responsibility to fix a broken dressing room which has descended into chaos and infighting in the final days of Arbeloa’s temporary reign.
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And with Madrid set to finish trophyless for a second successive season, president Florentino Perez is said to have given Mourinho assurances that he will be backed with significant funds to strengthen in the summer transfer window.
Earlier this week, Madrid-based radio station Cadena COPE reported that Mourinho had already held discussions over potential incomings and outgoings, with Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand emerging as a target in central midfield.
But the Portuguese is keen to bolster in a number of areas, with a view to closing the gap on arch-rivals Barcelona, and Dani Carvajal’s impending departure means a void will soon need filling at right-back.
According to SPORT, Mourinho is intent on Madrid bringing in extra support and competition for Trent Alexander-Arnold, preferably a more defensive alternative to the former Liverpool star.
The Special One is said to have identified Dalot as the ‘priority’ name on his shortlist of targets and is confident his fellow countryman ‘has all the qualities’ necessary to succeed at the Bernabeu.
It’s claimed Madrid are poised to ‘take advantage’ of United’s plans to overhaul much of their squad, with the Red Devils looking to raise funds towards a transfer kitty of around €120million (£104m) for new recruits.
The report adds that Dalot ‘could be interested in a change of scenery’ and United’s hierarchy ‘might be open to negotiations’, with the defender’s €35m (£21.6m) valuation deemed to be well within Madrid’s budget.
Mourinho was United’s manager when Dalot joined the club back in June 2018, but was dismissed just six months later having spent a total of £400m on 11 first-team players.
Should United decide to sell, they stand to make a significant profit on Dalot, with the Portugal international having arrived at Old Trafford for a fee of just £19m from Porto eight years ago.
Dalot has made a total of 246 appearances for United and picked up two trophies in that time, namely the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, which both came under the tutelage of Erik ten Hag.
The 27-year-old’s current contract at the Theatre of Dreams runs through to June 2028.
European giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich have also been credited with an interest in Dalot in recent weeks.
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‘It’s been good,’ Dalot said in a recent interview with United’s in-house media team when asked how the squad had coped with a sudden change of management after Michael Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim.
‘I mean, it’s always tough, and I’ve been through a couple of these scenarios before, so it’s always tough because, when changing manager, there is always a little bit of uncertainty around.
‘We had obviously two really tough games that can change momentum, that can change seasons. And we did really well.
‘So now the bigger challenge is to go even further, to be even better.’
Diogo suggested his previous experiences with Carrick had helped with the adjustment in the wake of Amorim’s dismissal.
‘It does help knowing what you’re going to get because, sometimes, you don’t know what you’re going to expect,’ he added.
‘But knowing Michael from before, I knew, straight away, that a person would come that is calm and it gives you good energy every time.
‘It’s always balanced. And playing two difficult games that I’m sure he knows really well, how it is to win against those teams, I think he knew, straight away, what to say to us, what kind of approach to have with us.
‘I think, in my case, it would help [to know him] because I already expected what was coming from him, although we had a couple of years apart. But, for others, obviously having someone that already knows the club, that already knows what you have to feel in these moments, it was helpful.’
On Carrick and his coaching staff, Dalot went on: ‘I’m really, really impressed with them.
‘I think the experience that they brought, they came with the right approach. ‘
‘I mean, Steve [Holland] was in this position a lot of times during his coaching career, so he knew what to say.
‘He knew the right energy to pass to the players. So I think the club and Michael did really well to bring them in.’
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