Manchester United Transfer News: Latest Jose Fonte and Tiemoue Bakayoko Rumours

Manchester United may reportedly sign Jose Fonte, but it's suggested the Red Devils will sell defensive pair Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones to make room for the Southampton captain. Meanwhile, the agent of Tiemoue Bakayoko has confirmed United's interest in the player.

United are looking to offload Rojo, while Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is interested in a move for Jones, according to Rob Dawson, Samuel Luckhurst and Alexandra Porter of the Manchester Evening News.

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It's highlighted that if Fonte were to arrive while Jones and Rojo headed for the exit, manager Jose Mourinho would have his criteria of four centre-backs in a 25-man squad.

At 32 years of age, the Southampton defender hardly holds much in terms of sell-on value, but Fonte appears to have hit his prime late, and the Mirror's Ed Malyon outlined his rags-to-riches rise at St. Mary's:

United have already beefed up their back line this summer with the addition of Villarreal centre-back Eric Bailly, while Daley Blind and Chris Smalling stand as Mourinho's other primary options at the heart of his defence.

Fonte has made 268 appearances for Southampton since joining the south-coast outfit in 2010, and manager Claude Puel would undoubtedly mourn the loss of such a big club figure so close to the deadline.

However, it's true the Portugal international may well see this as his last opportunity to join an elite outfit in his career, especially to work under a tactician like his compatriot Mourinho.

Mourinho recently got a firsthand look at the player, too, after United defeated Southampton 2-0 on Friday evening where Fonte came off second best in his battle against some potential future team-mates, per Sky Sports' Adam Bate:

Meanwhile, the representative of Monaco midfielder Bakayoko has revealed United to be one of the clubs apparently chasing his client, although an exit from the club is "out of the question."

The agent in question, Michel Boli, spoke to French newspaper L'Equipe and revealed Bakayoko has a long list of suitors chasing his signature (h/t Sport.fr, via Joe Short of the Daily Express):

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Juventus saw him play three times this summer. There’s also interest from Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Stoke City. Tiemoue’s priority is to stay at Monaco. Given that Tiemoue wasn’t a starter in the first two matches of pre-season, we wanted to know what the club’s plans for him were.

(Monaco vice-president Vadim) Vasilyev said he was very happy with him, and that a departure was out of the question. He must come forward with the contract extension which he promised us at the time, because we can’t keep waiting.

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Bakayoko moved to Monaco from Rennes in 2014 and has made 46 first-team appearances for his current employers, with just under three years remaining on his current contract.

United recently completed a world-record £89 million deal to re-sign star midfielder Paul Pogba, meaning a deal for Bakayoko, 22, could be delayed despite the club's earlier interest.