Manchester United make £32.5m offer for Roma defender Kostas Manolas

Manchester United have made a £32.5m ($40m) bid for Roma defender Kostas Manolas as he looks to shore up his defence, with summer signing Eric Bailly out for the month after reporting for international duty with Ivory Coast. The Red Devils are currently 10 points adrift of leaders Chelsea and Jose Mourinho is looking to go all out in a bid to challenge for the title.

The Sun reports that Mourinho is a huge fan of the Greek defender and has moved in for the 25-year-old after having been stumped in their pursuit of Victor Lindelof. The Red Devils have won six games on the bounce and know that a similar run in the second half of the campaign will bring them closer to Chelsea, who suffered their first loss in 14 games at White Hart Lane against Tottenham.

Mourinho was interested in Manolas last summer but moved for Bailly, who has been a brilliant acquisition for the Portuguese manager. However, Roma are unwilling to sell the player midway through the campaign, which may force United to dig deeper into their pockets and complete a deal for the defender, with Europa League action getting under way next month.

Meanwhile, on the attacking front, Mourinho is happy with what he has despite concerns over Zlatan Ibrahimovic playing the number of games he has. The former Chelsea manager waxed lyrical on Marcus Rashford, who he said is moving in the right direction.

"The biggest trust I give him is when I told you that I don't want another striker. I don't want one. Why? Because I have Rashford," The Sun quoted Mourinho as saying. He's always there. He's always selected, he's on the team, he's on the bench when he doesn't start. He comes on and he has different kinds of experiences.

"What happened to him last season was really fast and was a consequence of a situation that we are not having this season. He's fine. He's going in the right direction. He's a good kid, a good professional with the right mentality. He's always ready to learn and improve. This kid is going in the right direction."