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25th Jul 2017

Some people seem to have made their mind up about Victor Lindelof

After a few pre-season games...

Robert Redmond

Some people seem to have already made their mind up about Manchester United’s new defender.

Victor Lindelof has just joined United from Benfica for £31m, and looks set to partner Eric Bailly in the heart of the defence.

Jose Mourinho didn’t seem impressed with either Phil Jones or Chris Smalling last season, and Lindelof would offer him a defender with more composure on the ball.

The Swede has also only just turned 23, so Mourinho has plenty of time to mould his game and help him reach his potential.

However, Lindelof’s United career has got off to a bumpy start.

The defender looked shaky in the club’s pre-season games in the United States and gave away a penalty with a rash challenge against Real Madrid on Sunday.

Despite it only being a pre-season game, quite a few people seem to have already made their mind up about the Swedish defender, or are at least worried after watching his performances in America.

But, it’s only pre-season, he’s just arrived at the club, and plenty of players take time to settle at new clubs.

United greats such as Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic both had difficult starts at Old Trafford. Evra was substituted at half-time of United’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City back in January 2006, but went on to be a key player as the club won almost every trophy possible.

Lindelof might also need a few months to settle, or maybe he’s getting his mistakes out of the way early, or maybe he’ll flop and it won’t work out at Old Trafford.

Or maybe it’s too soon to make any judgement on the player, and there’s no way of gauging how his United career will develop based on a performance in a game where Ronald McDonald led the teams out.

To be a regular in Mourinho’s team, all Lindelof has to do is be better than Jones and Smalling, and United already have a strong defence, conceding only 29 goals last season. Given time, it should work out fine for him.