Report: Barcelona target versatile Manchester United’s Daley Blind

Barcelona have now turned their attention to Manchester United’s Daley Blind, it was reported that the versatile Dutchman is surplus to requirement by United’s new boss Jose Mourinho bringing back news that the Catalan club who had tried to sign him before are back for him, Sport reports.

Son of the legendary Danny Blind, Daley has been on the market for a couple of days and his agent, Rob Jansen, is offering him to various clubs, among them Barcelona. Jansen has a good relationship with the Catalan club as he has worked with them regularly.

It’s not the first time there’s been interest. Blind was wanted by FC Barcelona two years ago, but United got ahead of them and paid the 17 million euros to Ajax to make the signing. He was one of the priorities of their then new manager, Louis van Gaal. Instead, Barcelona ended up signing Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu, both for a similar price.

Blind has Barça DNA. Brought up in the Ajax school, he stands out for his versatility – he can play in three positions (midfield, centre-back, full-back) – for his ability on the ball and for his positional play, which makes him ideal for Barcelona.

Daley Blind was regularly involved in Van Gaal’s first season (25 games, two goals) and even more so in his second (35 games, two goals), but his characteristics don’t fit in with Mourinho, who prefers more physical, committed defenders, even if that is at the cost of technical ability. Mourinho has put him, without doubt, on the transfer list, and now Blind has appeared as the surprise alternative for Luis Enrique’s side.

United signed him for 17 million euros and he could be sold for a similar price now. His contract expires in 2018. Blind’s preference is to play in a team which best suits his style, so he sees a move to Barça as a good one.