New Vidic? Manchester United Plan Signing Of 6ft 0″ Tall CB

The Red Devils are concerned they could be trumped in the race for Valencia’s Shkodran Mustafi by Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, who have joined the race for the sought-after defender, as per the Daily Star.

Mustafi, a former Everton youngster, failed to break into the Toffees’ starting XI before moving to Serie A side Sampdoria in 2012. The German ace then made a switch to Valencia in the summer of 2014.

The Germany World Cup winner has since been impressive for the La Liga side, and Bayern are now looking to beat United to the signature of Mustafi, who boss Pep Guardiola is highly keen to bring to the Allianz Arena in the New Year.

The Star also claim United boss Louis van Gaal made an approach to sign Mustafi during the summer, as they assesses their defensive options after their failure to sign Real Madrid’s centre-back Sergio Ramos, but Valencia decided the Germany international would not be leaving the Camp de Mestalla.

The report also says La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid are keen on Mustafi, 23, so Man United’s chance of landing the defender appears slim at the moment.

It is understood Mustafi has a £37m release clause in his current deal which is set to run out in 2019, and Valencia would be willing to sell the centre-back at £22m, as per the Star.

Mustafi could follow in the footsteps of his former team-mate at Valencia – Nicolas Otamendi – to exit the La Liga outfit. The Argentinian defender left for Manchester City during the summer, however, Mustafi’s destination is still unknown.