According to the Sunday Times Manchester United are contemplating a shock move for Southampton defender Jose Fonte.

Jose Mourinho is apparently considering taking Jose Fonte to Old Trafford if a report in the Sunday Times is to be believed.

Despite having already signed a central defender in Eric Bailly for £30 million from Villareal, Mourinho is still concerned that he does not have sufficient quality in central defence for the coming season and with United struggling to sign true A list players as they have not qualified for the Champions League for the coming season, he is looking at Fonte as a shot term fix.

However it would be highly likely that Fonte would not be interested in the move apart from the monetary aspect, at Saints he will be virtually guaranteed a starting place, but at United he might not get as much game time as he is used to at St Mary's

From a Saints perspective Fonte signed a new contract keeping him at the club till the summer of 2018 when he will be approaching 35 so they will be under no pressure to sell.

However every player has his price and if United offer enough money Saints may feel that like the recent transfer of Graziano Pelle, it could be a good chance to get a big fee for the player and re invest it in someone younger.

Saints supporters would be devastated if Fonte did leave, in his 6 1/2 years at St Mary's he has become one of those players that can truly be regarded as a club legend.

Photo: Action Images

SanMarco added 18:15 - Jul 31 I don't believe this...
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DPeps added 18:20 - Jul 31 SanMarco - is that an exasperated, Victor Medrew-style 'I don't believe it/this', or do you not believe the truth of the rumour? I can well believe the truth of it, and unfortunately Man Utd usually get what they want
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legod7 added 18:20 - Jul 31 On 8 August 2014, Fonte penned a new three-year deal with Southampton running until 2017, and was also named team captain. He has one year left on his contract
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the_saint added 18:26 - Jul 31 Jose has signed a contract to the summer of 2018 so that's 2 years left
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ChristchurchSaint added 18:35 - Jul 31 Hopefully Jose will remember a certain SRL who thought he was moving on a dream deal, maybe got a pay rise, but spent most of his time at Liverpool on the bench, and has probably regretted it ever since.
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derbydog added 18:36 - Jul 31 I wouldn't be too bothered by this. Jose deserves this if he wants it, same as Rickie did. If we get a decent fee we should be investing in a younger model as we would need to soon anyway. Another VVD would be good!
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SanMarco added 19:17 - Jul 31 Yes DPeps - good point. I actually meant 'this rumour is nonsense' but will move to the Victor Meldrew position if he does actually go!!
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SonicBoom added 20:19 - Jul 31 I don't think is even a possibility. Just paper talk.
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NewForestSaint added 20:28 - Jul 31 It's being reported elsewhere (Scottish Daily Record)that Everton have tabled a £9 million bid for Jose - hope again it's paper talk but not sure I could stomach seeing him trot out at the "People's Club" for the lyin' Dutchman
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kenis added 20:32 - Jul 31 £9m bid from Everton according to Daily Record. Plus we know the two Joses share the same agent so Utd will know exactly what it will take to get Fonte out, and don't think we'd stand in his way. Be gutted to see him leave, we've already lost VW, Mane and Pelle and their "replacements" are unproven, losing Fonte would be a further significant blow. If Stones is worth £40m plus then you can bet VVD and Fonte look incredibly attractive to all the bigger clubs in the league.

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BoondockSaint added 21:28 - Jul 31 Hope it ain't so. This would just take the heart and soul out of Saints and us fans. But when I stop and think about it, where's the "shock"? From United's point of view, Fonte is a solid player, a greater mentor for younger players, a leader on the field and off. Plus, he's Portuguese, so he could be the player's representative with Mourinho. From his point of view, he's getting towards the end of his career and could use a big payday. He's led the Saints' climb up from the lower leagues, and taking a look at the way the club gets rid of every player that might help Saints actually accomplish something, he might just figure "What's the point? If the board doesn't care about this team as much as I do, I might as well be off!"

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welhamdowed added 22:01 - Jul 31 It's a win, win if true. We get decent money for a player with a year or two left in him and Jose gets a pay day and plays for a massive club. Man U also win and get a quality centre back, but at a price. At Southampton everyone has a price.
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sidsaint added 22:07 - Jul 31 If we let him go before signing a top class replacement it will be a disruptive start to the season which has anything but a settled squad due to players late back from the Euros. We must no longer be seen as a team of easy pickings from any other club that wants to strengthen, lets put our own priorities first for a change.
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zonehead added 22:51 - Aug 1 This is the first season since the legendary midfield axis has been broken, is Hammond Shniederlin Cork and Wanyama being the last link that has taken us from div 3 (I still call it that) to where we are now.long live the Saints
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