New Sweden coach Jon Dahl Tomasson has held talks with Victor Lindelof amid suggestions that the Manchester United and Premier League centre-half could lose the captain’s armband at international level.
At least, if Victor Lindelof is indeed stripped of the Sweden captaincy, he won’t have far to look for a man who can advise him how best to respond to such a blow.
Harry Maguire lost the armband at Manchester United last summer, the role handed to Bruno Fernandes instead by Erik ten Hag. The much-maligned centre-half – in a move Jadon Sancho would benefit to learn from – then put his head down, puffed his chest out, and set about re-igniting his seemingly doomed United career.
Victor Lindelof could lose Sweden captaincy
Maguire was named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad on Thursday, and looks nailed-on for a role at Euro 2024. There will be no Lindelof in Germany, however. His Sweden side failed to qualify, missing the finals for the first time in nearly three decades.
And will Lindelof now pay for his part in a disastrous qualifying campaign? Tomasson, Sweden’s new head coach, insists that a decision has been made, with a change of skipper is clearly something he has been considering.
“I have decided. But the sad answer is that I won’t tell you yet!,” the former Blackburn Rovers boss tells Futbolskanalen. “The players should be told first. It’s the right way to do things.
“I’m a bit boring that I can’t give you the answer. But I have met Victor Nilsson Lindelof in England and we had a very good conversation. We talked about many things.”
Manchester United future uncertain
Lindelof, capped over 60 times by the Scandinavian nation, has worn the captain’s armband for Sweden since 2021. The man himself has been less than complimentary of his own performances on the international stage, however, making a crucial error in November’s stunning 3-0 defeat by Azerbaijan.
The long-serving Lindelof is also one of a number of senior players who could be shipped out by Manchester United this summer. He has only one year left on his contract.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/MXlkHe4