Manchester United Could Pursue Stefan De Vrij On A Free Transfer This Summer

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Manchester United are currently in Spain as they prepare for the return in Champions League action. The rival will be Sevilla, as the Devils will try and reach the quarter final of this illustrious competition. Jose Mourinho and his team will have the advantage of playing the return leg in Manchester, as they finished top of Group A last December.

Yet, there was an important piece of information spreading through media this Tuesday. Igli Tare, the sporting director of Italian side Lazio, said that their centre-back Stefan De Vrij will be leaving the club this summer as a free agent.

How This Happened?

The Dutch defender entered last six months of his contract with the Rome-based club and Lazio did not want to sell him this January. The club wanted him to extend the contract, but the player obviously feels ready to play at the bigger stage.

De Vrij will make at least half a dozen Premier League clubs fight for him. As he is not playing in any leagues of the United Kingdom, all clubs are able to get the player to sign a pre-contract with any of the clubs. That means Manchester United, including other clubs, like Liverpool and possibly Tottenham and Arsenal, could get De Vrij to sign with them before 1 July 2018.

There is a reason for all of this happening. De Vrij had couple of good seasons in Rome and he feels ready to try himself at bigger clubs. If he was to renew the contract with his current club, De Vrij would lose at least another year at Lazio and by the time of summer 2019, he would be halfway towards turning 28. The Dutchman must feel ready to take the most out of his peak years at some bigger club, challenging for the biggest titles.

Signing De Vrij On A Free Would Be A Coup

However, there is also another reason. Players in recent seasons are more and more keen to see their contracts out as then they are able to get themselves a better contract. The club then does not pay a transfer fee to his old club and that means more room for a bigger contract. That is what many were mentioning about Alexis Sanchez this winter, yet he chose to change club right away and not wait for the summer.

Manchester United could therefore get a coup this summer. They would get a centre-back on a free and solve one of their problems. There is a feeling that United might even need two centre-backs after poor displays from Phil Jones and Chris Smalling. With Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly alongside Marcos Rojo in the squad, there might be a need for two players. Getting one on a free would give United much more room for finding another one. They would not need to spend huge amounts of money on two separate players.

Stefan De Vrij played 26 Serie A matches this season. The Dutchman made 1 successful tackle and 2.1 interceptions per 90 minutes. At 189 centimeters, he is also a threat in opposition’s box, as he scored on four separate occasions this term.

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