Mourinho’s sacking boosted Newcastle’s chances of keeping Lascelles in January

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Newcastle United defender was on a list of January targets drawn up by Manchester United while Jose Mourinho was still in charge, according to ESPN.

They claim that Mourinho was expecting to bring in an experienced defensive improvement in the winter if he was still in charge.

But he was of course sacked before that point, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought in instead and the uncertainty over who will be the next long-term manager at Old Trafford meant that there were no new arrivals last month.

But Lascelles was reportedly on a shortlist that also included Serie A options Kalidou Koulibaly and Milan Skriniar after his Magpies performances caught the eye of United’s scouts.

Lascelles clearly loves Newcastle and there is nothing to say he would have moved to Old Trafford if Mourinho had remained in charge.

They were a club in decline under the Portuguese but at 25 years old, the opportunity to move to a Champions League side at this stage of his career may have been too good for Lascelles to turn down.

But Mourinho’s dismissal appeared to put the blockers on that move before the window opened anyway, with Solskjaer’s arrival signalling a change of direction at Old Trafford.