Man Utd & Man City Keeping Tabs on Marseille Defender Duje Ćaleta-Car
By Tom Gott
Exclusive - Manchester City and Manchester United have both been monitoring Marseille centre-back Duje Ćaleta-Car, with scouts comparing him to United legend Nemanja Vidić.
The 23-year-old has long been tipped for big things and has been living up to that potential this season in Ligue 1, steering Marseille up to second in the standings behind only Paris Saint-Germain.
His performances have not gone unnoticed, and a source has confirmed to 90min that both City and United have identified Ćaleta-Car as a potential fix for their respective issues in the heart of defence.
Starting with City, they are plotting to sign two centre-backs this summer, with Aymeric Laporte the only member of the current squad who is safe. They want a big name to partner the Frenchman and a third-choice option to provide competition.
Napoli's Kalidou Koulibaly, West Ham United's Issa Diop and RB Leipzig's Dayot Upamecano have all been discussed, but now Ćaleta-Car is also on their radar. Scouts have been following him closely, and the verdict has been overwhelmingly positive.
However, the Cityzens are aware that they are not alone in the race for his signature, as United have been keeping a close eye on the Croatian ever since the start of last season.
In a similar boat to City, United are open to overhauling their defence this summer. Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and even Victor Lindelöf could all be sold once this season comes to a close, so finding new defenders could be a top priority for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ćaleta-Car, who is similar to Vidić in both stature and play style, has made 52 appearances for Marseille since joining from RB Salzburg in a €19m deal in 2018. After initially struggling to command a place in the starting lineup, he has proven himself to be a core part of the squad, with 20 of his 23 league appearances this year coming as a starter.
He remains under contract at the Orange Vélodrome until 2023 and would likely not come cheap, but both City and United are aware that they will likely have to pay up to sign the right player.
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