Reports: Manchester United and Manchester City join race for £28m rated La Liga defender

What's the story?

Manchester United have had difficulties in the centre of defence and injuries have meant that they have been unable to field a consistent centre-back pairing. Injuries to Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Eric Bailly have led to problems for the Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.

Mourinho's team are currently in second place in the Premier League, and have kept only one clean sheet in their last four matches. The Portuguese manager will look to the January transfer window for solutions to his current problem, and according to reports from the Dailymail, Sevilla defender Clement Lenglet has been identified as a potential target.

In case you didn't know...

Clement Lenglet began his professional career at Nancy in France, making a total of 110 appearances for the club. The 22-year-old French centre-back signed for Sevilla in January 2017 for a fee of €5 million. Since then Lenglet has made 23 appearances for Sevilla and has gained a reputation for being a tough-tackling defender who is adept at reading the game.

The heart of the matter

Lenglet has attracted the attention of several Premier League clubs in the last few months with his performances for Sevilla. Manchester United and Manchester City will have to compete with the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Barcelona to sign the young defender.

Liverpool have first-hand knowledge of Lenglet's defensive capabilities, with the Reds playing Sevilla twice in the Champions League group stages. Virgil van Dijk's relocation from Southampton to Merseyside was ended prematurely by the Dutch centre-back's club, and should Liverpool fail to sign him in January, they may view Lenglet as an alternative.

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Author's Take

The centre-back is still young and is currently attracting a lot of interest. However, both Manchester City and Manchester United have several defensive players vying for first-team places, and they might not go for the youngster. Arsenal, on the other hand, are in dire need of a young centre-back and Lenglet is a steal at £28 million.