Kolkata, October 11: Inter Milan defender Milan Skriniar has distanced himself from rumours linking him of a possible move to Manchester United and has reiterated his desire to stay in Italy.

Jose Mourinho was keen to add a centre-back in last the summer window and players like Toby Alderweireld, Harry Maguire, Diego Godin and Jerome Boateng were all considered by the Portuguese though CEO Ed Woodward did not agree.

But according to recent reports, the United boss will go for a defensive option again in January and the 23-year-old Inter centre-back is on his radar as he looks to strengthen his back line.

But the young the Slovakia international has played down the rumours and insisted that his focus remains on playing for Inter Milan this season.

"Yes, but I don’t know if it’s true," he told Sport.sk when asked about the rumours.

"Personally, I don’t know, as the transfer window has just shut, so it’s hard for me to say anything.

"There was some noise in the summer, but nothing happened, so I’m not letting it bother me."

Skriniar joined Inter only last season from Sampdoria and has now gone from strength to strength in the past 12 months to become one of the best defenders in Italy.

Most times possession won in the defensive third in Serie A this season

🥇M. Skriniar -- 180
🥈N. Nkoulou -- 162
🥉S. De Vrij -- 159https://t.co/x7C9pJR0Py pic.twitter.com/b4nRJGs5BL

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) May 24, 2018

The grapevine is that United had earlier expressed interest in him, but backed out after the Italian side demanded a huge fee.

However, with Mourinho yet to settle on his back four, the former Premier League champions are now ready to break the bank in the next transfer window.