'Lindelof will come good for Man Utd' - Berg backing £40m 'struggling' defender to deliver

Victor Lindelof has been backed by Henning Berg to overcome his early struggles at Manchester United and justify a £40 million fee.

Jose Mourinho moved quickly to land the Sweden international at the start of the summer, with a deal which had first been mooted in January completed before the window had officially opened.

Lindelof arrived at Old Trafford amid high hopes, with the 23-year-old considered to be a shrewd addition for the present and future.

However, he found the going tough during pre-season and has been forced to take a watching brief in the Premier League as Eric Bailly and Phil Jones have impressed at centre-half.

Mourinho will bring Lindelof into the fold in the Champions League against Basel on Tuesday, though, and Berg is confident that a big-money addition will prove his worth – as he did during his playing days to eventually earn a £5m switch to United.

Lindelof 7/1 to score v Basel

The former Norway international told reporters: "Victor is struggling a little bit with getting used to English football.

"For some players it can take time but he did very well at Benfica and I am sure he will come good and take the next step.

"It is difficult because in the Premier League you don't get many opportunities and you have to be 100 percent.

"My first game in England, I played for Blackburn in the semi-final of the League Cup against Sheffield Wednesday. I played right-back and we lost 4-2. The next game I was in the stand.

"I got blamed for the first goal. It was a learning curve. Kenny Dalglish was the manager and Ray Harford was his assistant but they believed in me and gave me more chances after that when I had adapted a little bit more. You need faith from the manager.

"Patrik Andersson had 100 caps for Sweden and won the Champions League with Bayern Munich and he started the match as well. He was also blamed for two goals and he had to sit out the next match in the stand as well.

"We had a good mentality and we adapted quickly and got over that first experience. Victor also has a good mentality and you need that at United."

Berg, who was part of United’s Treble-winning squad in 1999, added: "Victor was highly rated at Benfica. He had been a bit of an unknown prior to that. He did really well in the Under-21s in the European Championships.

"He got into the Benfica team because of injury and they started winning.

"The additions United have made this summer were very good.

"They have match winners now, they have strength in depth and can handle injuries and Mourinho is a manager who knows what he is doing. He always does well in his second year. He has the right mentality.

"The first year was a learning process for all the players and maybe for Mourinho and now they know what to expect and know what to do. They have the players to be able to fight for the Premier League title and Champions League."

United will be forced to shuffle their pack against Basel on Tuesday as Jones and Bailly are suspended, with Mourinho having already revealed that Lindelof and Chris Smalling will be drafted in to fill the void.