Manchester United transfer news: Virgil van Dijk a £30m target for Jose Mourinho as Red Devils boss bids to strengthen leaky back line with Southampton defender
Mourinho has repeatedly accused his players of bottling it and believes Van Dijk can help toughen up his team
JOSE MOURINHO wants to bring Virgil van Dijk to Manchester United in a £30million move.
The Dutch defender has impressed since joining Southampton from Celtic and has been targeted to help sure up the Red Devils' leaky defence.
According to the , Mourinho and his coaching staff believe Van Dijk is the man to toughen them up and bring leadership to their back line.
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United have conceded 12 goals in ten Premier League games this term.
But they have also gone down in red-hot Europa League atmospheres against Fenerbahce and Feyenoord.
Mourinho reportedly believes his defence are 'soft' and lack the steel that the Portuguese wants, particularly when they go behind in games.
It is also suggested that Chris Smalling has come in for fierce criticism at their Carrington training complex, with Luke Shaw and Daley Blind given the treatment too.
Eric Bailly has impressed since his summer move from Villarreal and, although he could be back from a knee injury to face Tottenham as early as December 11, Mourinho has now turned his attentions to the transfer market.
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As exclusively revealed by SunSport, he is keen on Atletico Madrid centre-back Diego Godin - with eight players facing the chop.
And he is keeping tabs on Jose Giminez, with Arsenal also lining up a move for the £50m-rated 21-year-old.
Mourinho could see Van Dijk, 25, as better value than Godin, who turns 31 in February.
There were some question marks over whether Van Dijk would be able to live up to his £11.5million price tag when he moved south of the border at the end of last season's summer deadline.
He was largely untroubled by Scottish Premier League forward lines in his three seasons with Celtic.
But the six-foot-four ace has speed and physicality to go with his ball-playing ability, with set-piece quality in his locker too.
His latest impressive display came as he netted a volley to help put Inter Milan to the sword in the Europa League on Thursday.