{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreia55bkmldsmmhk2ysmtt34wqiazo6viizvt3xm6rskgyizoqiw4qm",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:b7afdzqsmwksxypciqnplglk/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmerzlneubg2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreia5p7voztzu5w2ukfgqyycuzdfka2agap633wbon4rvvicccsp7v4"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/jpeg",
    "size": 64093
  },
  "path": "/2026/05/21/jose-mourinho-identifies-man-utd-star-transfer-priority-real-madrid-28465332/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-21T14:59:48.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "Diogo Dalot",
    "Jose Mourinho",
    "Manchester United",
    "Manchester United Transfer News",
    "Real Madrid",
    "Real Madrid transfer news",
    "Transfer News and Rumours",
    "Mourinho is preparing to step down from his post at Benfica and return to the Spanish capital for another bite at the cherry",
    "has descended into chaos and infighting in the final days of Arbeloa’s temporary reign",
    "Sign up now",
    "Cadena COPE",
    "Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand emerging as a target in central midfield",
    "Madrid",
    "Trent Alexander-Arnold",
    "Portugal",
    "Old Trafford",
    "supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo",
    "check our sport page",
    "Facebook",
    "Twitter",
    "Instagram",
    "Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source"
  ],
  "textContent": "Manchester United right-back Diogo Dalot is on the radar of soon-to-be Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho (Picture: Getty)\n\nSoon-to-be Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho has placed Manchester United stalwart Diogo Dalot at the top of his wishlist at right-back, according to reports in Spain.\n\nThirteen years after his first spell at the Bernabeu was brought to an end, Mourinho is preparing to step down from his post at Benfica and return to the Spanish capital for another bite at the cherry.\n\nMourinho has reportedly reached a verbal agreement over a two-year contract with Los Blancos and is expected to take over the reins from Alvaro Arbeloa once the club have concluded their campaign at home to Athletic Bilbao this weekend.\n\nAs well as overseeing an upturn in results and performances on the pitch, it will be Mourinho’s responsibility to fix a broken dressing room which has descended into chaos and infighting in the final days of Arbeloa’s temporary reign.\n\n##  Love football?\n\nOur seven-day guide to the World Cup is live. 48 teams, 104 games, 1104 players – we've got everything you need to know. Sign up now.\n\nAnd with Madrid set to finish trophyless for a second successive season, president Florentino Perez is said to have given Mourinho assurances that he will be backed with significant funds to strengthen in the summer transfer window.\n\nEarlier this week, Madrid-based radio station Cadena COPE reported that Mourinho had already held discussions over potential incomings and outgoings, with Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand emerging as a target in central midfield.\n\nBut the Portuguese is keen to bolster in a number of areas, with a view to closing the gap on arch-rivals Barcelona, and Dani Carvajal’s impending departure means a void will soon need filling at right-back.\n\nCarvajal brings his trophy-laden Madrid careerto an end this summer (Picture: Getty)\n\nUnited could reportedly be open to negotiations for Dalot (Picture: Getty)\n\nAccording to SPORT, Mourinho is intent on Madrid bringing in extra support and competition for Trent Alexander-Arnold, preferably a more defensive alternative to the former Liverpool star.\n\nThe Special One is said to have identified Dalot as the ‘priority’ name on his shortlist of targets and is confident his fellow countryman ‘has all the qualities’ necessary to succeed at the Bernabeu.\n\nIt’s claimed Madrid are poised to ‘take advantage’ of United’s plans to overhaul much of their squad, with the Red Devils looking to raise funds towards a transfer kitty of around €120million (£104m) for new recruits.\n\nDalot spent half-a-season under Mourinho at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)\n\nThe report adds that Dalot ‘could be interested in a change of scenery’ and United’s hierarchy ‘might be open to negotiations’, with the defender’s €35m (£21.6m) valuation deemed to be well within Madrid’s budget.\n\nMourinho was United’s manager when Dalot joined the club back in June 2018, but was dismissed just six months later having spent a total of £400m on 11 first-team players.\n\nShould United decide to sell, they stand to make a significant profit on Dalot, with the Portugal international having arrived at Old Trafford for a fee of just £19m from Porto eight years ago.\n\nDalot lifted the FA Cup with United in 2024 (Picture: Getty)\n\nDalot has made a total of 246 appearances for United and picked up two trophies in that time, namely the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, which both came under the tutelage of Erik ten Hag.\n\nThe 27-year-old’s current contract at the Theatre of Dreams runs through to June 2028.\n\nEuropean giants Barcelona and Bayern Munich have also been credited with an interest in Dalot in recent weeks.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\n‘It’s been good,’ Dalot said in a recent interview with United’s in-house media team when asked how the squad had coped with a sudden change of management after Michael Carrick took over from Ruben Amorim.\n\n‘I mean, it’s always tough, and I’ve been through a couple of these scenarios before, so it’s always tough because, when changing manager, there is always a little bit of uncertainty around.\n\n‘We had obviously two really tough games that can change momentum, that can change seasons. And we did really well.\n\n‘So now the bigger challenge is to go even further, to be even better.’\n\nDalot has two years remaining on his current contract (Picture: Getty)\n\nDiogo suggested his previous experiences with Carrick had helped with the adjustment in the wake of Amorim’s dismissal.\n\n‘It does help knowing what you’re going to get because, sometimes, you don’t know what you’re going to expect,’ he added.\n\n‘But knowing Michael from before, I knew, straight away, that a person would come that is calm and it gives you good energy every time.\n\nMourinho believes Dalot has ‘all the qualities’ needed to succeed at Madrid (Picture: Getty)\n\n‘It’s always balanced. And playing two difficult games that I’m sure he knows really well, how it is to win against those teams, I think he knew, straight away, what to say to us, what kind of approach to have with us.\n\n‘I think, in my case, it would help [to know him] because I already expected what was coming from him, although we had a couple of years apart. But, for others, obviously having someone that already knows the club, that already knows what you have to feel in these moments, it was helpful.’\n\nOn Carrick and his coaching staff, Dalot went on: ‘I’m really, really impressed with them.\n\n‘I think the experience that they brought, they came with the right approach. ‘\n\n‘I mean, Steve [Holland] was in this position a lot of times during his coaching career, so he knew what to say.\n\n‘He knew the right energy to pass to the players. So I think the club and Michael did really well to bring them in.’\n\n**For more stories like this, check our sport page**.\n\n**Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on**Facebook,** Twitter and Instagram**.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Jose Mourinho identifies Man Utd star as transfer ‘priority’ for Real Madrid"
}