According to Mike McGrath, writing for The Sun, Manchester United are looking to put their defensive woes somewhat behind them by targeting Norwich City youngster Ben Godfrey.
The York-born 21-year-old central defender has certainly caught the eye in his début season for the table-topping Sky Bet Championship Canaries. He’s featured in 22 games already this campaign, scoring two goals and adding a further two assists.
Godfrey was snapped up by the Canaries from York City in mid-January 2016 and spent last season out on loan at League One side Shrewsbury Town. Whilst with the Shrews, he featured in 40 games, scoring just the one goal.
But it is this season, not last, where the youngster’s performances have caught the eye. It is these performances, and their eye-catching consistency, that has drawn this seeming interest from Manchester United who McGrath says “are stepping up their interest.”
The Sun reporter goes on to say that United sent scouts to watch him in action in Norwich’s victory over Rotherham United. That 2-1 result saw the Canaries gain their sixth consecutive win and saw Godfrey keep up his unbroken run of appearances since the turn of 2019.
With Swede Eric Bailly being tipped to leave Old Trafford, bringing in Godfrey from the Norfolk club could be a cheaper alternative for the Red Devils rather than splashing the big cash on the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly.
However, there is a lot of time between now and early May, a time when Norwich could very well find themselves promoted to the Premier League themselves. Such an occurrence would leave the Canaries in a much stronger, more secure position when it comes to withstanding such interest from bigger clubs such Manchester United.
