Could Manchester United be set to raid Benfica again for Anderson Talisca?

Add as preferred source on Google

According to reports coming from Portugal over the past day, Benfica’s promising midfielder Anderson Talisca could follow teammate Victor Lindelof to Manchester United this summer.

In an interview with Globoesporte on Thursday, the 23-year-old spoke about how much he ‘loved’ current United boss Jose Mourinho when faced with questions about a move to Old Trafford.

Speaking in the interview, Talisca said:

“I cannot deny there is interest but what happens next depends on Benfica and my representatives.

“There will be news on this soon.

“Look every player dreams of playing under him. Mourinho wants me, he has wanted me for a long time and I am an admirer of his work. I had a good season so we will see what happens.”

Talisca has spent the past year out on-loan at Turkish side Besiktas and played an integral part in helping them secure the domestic title, contributing 17 goals and a further six assists from midfield.

What could Talisca add to Manchester United’s side?

Despite being sent out on-loan by Benfica, the Portuguese midfielder is quickly emerging as one of the hottest prospects in European football and it’s not hard to see why Jose Mourinho may like him.

Something immediately striking for a man so slender in size and stature is the raw power that he shows both on and off the ball, able to effortlessly breeze past defenders like they’re not even there.

This strength – allied with an extremely good turn of pace – makes him a dangerous player when driving into the heart of the opposition defence, and it’s often hard to stop the rampant runs he makes.

A six-feet three-inch frame also means he’s perfectly capable of getting stuck into the rough and ready nature of the Premier League, and he’s certainly not a player shy of getting into a challenge.

Add to this his clinical ability inside the area – helping himself to 13 league goals from midfield in just 22 appearances – and he shapes up as a promising all-rounder that could be a real asset in Manchester.

The only issue for Talisca would be that, should he make the switch to Manchester United, there’s a chance that he’ll spend a lot of time on the side-lines this season with the current wealth of options.

With Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all rotated in attacking midfield slots last season competition for spots would become even greater next year, and at just 23-years-old Talisca should be searching for regular first-team action to help him develop.

Yet if what he said in the interview is true and Mourinho does in fact want him to join then that’s a huge testament to the potential that Talisca has – and a move to Old Trafford could be hard to turn down.