Swedish centre-back Victor Lindelof is expected to complete his £30.7 million move to Manchester United this week.The Red Devils have confirmed a deal to sign the 22-year-old from Benfica subject to a medical and personal terms.It signals Mourinho’s first foray into the transfer market as he looks to build a squad that can compete for a Premier League title and in the Champions League.The early prediction is that Lindelof will be a success at Old Trafford. His Sweden teammate, Sebastian Larsson has backed him to be a huge hit in England."You cannot deny his qualities. He has burst on to the scene and done superbly at club and international level,” Larsson told The Sun. “I’ve been so impressed by him whenever I’ve played with him.“Not only does he have the quality on the pitch but he has a calm and sensible head on him as well.“It goes without saying the Premier League and England is a completely different culture and he will have to handle that.
"And as long as people give him a bit of time to adjust, he will ultimately succeed at United.”
Lindelof and Bailly - the new Ferdinand and Vidic?
Man United fans will hope that Lindelof can form a partnership with Eric Bailly that is as strong as Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic’s.
According to Duncan Castles, Mourinho’s preferred pairing next season will be Lindelof and Bailly, and it’s not hard to see why. Both are upgrades on Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind.
Lindelof has experience in a top CB pairing
Lindelof has experience of playing in a formidable centre-back pairing. He formed a partnership with Brazilian Jardel at Benfica that helped the Portuguese club win the Primeira Liga and Taca da Liga in 2015 and 2016.
Jardel was replaced in the starting line-up by Luisao this past season, but his partnership with Lindelof was so good that Robert Lewandowski felt compelled to publicly praise the pair.
Lewandowski praised Lindelof
Lewandowski’s Bayern Munich played against Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2016.
Bayern won the first leg by a narrow 1-0 scoreline and Lewandowski was kept off the score sheet. Ahead of the return fixture in Portugal, the Poland striker admitted Lindelof was part of one of the best centre-back pairings he had faced that season.
“They were very good,” Lewandowski said, per Diario de Noticias.
“I did not know them in detail, but I can say that they were one of the best centre-back duos I’ve faced in the last year.”
Man United fans will be excited
The Bundesliga may not provide Bayern with stiff competition these days but the German champions played against Juventus in the round-of-16 - weeks before the Benfica tie - and played against Real Madrid in a pre-season tournament.
And just a month before facing Lindelof and Jardel, Lewandowski was kept at bay by Borussia Dortmund, who had Mats Hummels in defence.
So for the Bayern forward to rank Lindelof so highly should leave Man United fans very excited.