Man Utd beaten by Real Madrid to £44m transfer of Porto defender Militao
An impressive breakthrough season in Portugal has seen Los Blancos pounce quickly to snap up the 21-year-old defender
PORTO defender Eder Militao is set to sign for Real Madrid despite interest from Premier League giants Manchester United.
Several clubs are keen on the young Brazilian and Los Blancos have moved fast to strengthen a defence that has leaked 29 goals in La Liga this season, as many as relegation threatened minnows Real Valladolid.
According to , Real are confident that only Militao's signature is missing to complete a deal worth €50 million (£44m).
The 21-year-old only signed for Porto from Sao Paulo in August and quickly became a regular, swapping between centre-back and right-back.
Since the January arrival of experienced defender Pepe, Militao has often found himself on the flank, where he played in the recent defeat to Roma in the Champions League.
The Brazilian national team have also taken note of these achievements, awarding him a debut in the September friendly thrashing of Salvador.
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Manchester United missing out on Militao leaves question marks over their summer transfer policy.
Antonio Valencia is out of contract soon and appears set to leave the club, with Matteo Darmian and injury ravaged Marcos Rojo barely featuring under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ashley Young has been ably backed up by Diogo Dalot at right-back but the former Aston Villa and Watford star turns 34 in the summer and alternatives may have to be considered ahead of the new campaign.