According to reports, Manchester United have accelerated their interest in signing Lazio defender Stefan de Vrij in an attempt to beat rivals Liverpool in the race to sign the player.
Liverpool have long been linked with the signature of the Netherlands international and are said to have had a £30 million offer rejected for him during the summer transfer window.
As De Vrij is an important member of the Lazio first team, the Italian club are naturally trying to get him to sign a new deal which will include a release clause of £22 million. Signing De Vrij will be a major coup for United manager Jose Mourinho.
Though the Red Devils have quality options at the back, they are likely to be without Eric Bailly for another two to three months after he underwent surgery to fix an ankle problem.
This has left United relying upon Chris Smalling and Phil Jones and Jones has experienced his own share of injury problems throughout his career.
