Mourinho keen on free transfer to add to Sanchez signing, Man United in hijack attempt for midfielder

Ever since his return from Russia, whenever Lassana Diarra was on the lookout for a new club, Manchester United have been mentioned.

The reason behind this happens to be the previous work relationship the France international and José Mourinho shared at Stamford Bridge during the Special One’s first spell at Chelsea and then at Real Madrid, as well as, at the time, a need for a new defensive midfielder at Old Trafford.

After his time at Marseille, Diarra eventually ended up at Al Jazira, but a return to Europe has been touted, with Paris Saint-Germain interested in him to provide some backup for Thiago Motta, with Grzegorz Krychowiak currently on loan at West Brom.

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On Boxing Day, we suggested that Mourinho’s ‘temptation to snap up’ Diarra on a free could be too much to resist, stating: “With Manchester United using Scott McTominay recently, Marouane Fellaini being a doubt for the future, and Michael Carrick not having played since September, it’s not hard to argue the Old Trafford need is greater than that in Paris.”

Well, lo and behold, Le Parisien have an article on Thursday revealing an interest from Manchester United, explaining that José Mourinho sniffing out a good opportunity for a cheap deal had slowed down negotiations between the 32-year-old and Paris Saint-Germain.

However, the French newspaper state that, even if Diarra was in England last week, he has now returned to Paris and prefers the option to play for the current Ligue 1 leaders.