UNITED PAIR FACING AXE

JOSE MOURINHO is planning a major shake-up of his Manchester United defence – with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones set to be offloaded in the summer. Mourinho is looking to bring in a new centre-half, with Smalling (above, left) set to make way and fellow England defender Jones (above, right) also under threat. The United boss is understood to have had misgivings about the pair before Sunday’s shambolic 1-0 defeat at Newcastle. And after seeing Liverpool spend £75million on Virgil van Dijk and City splash out £57m on Aymeric Laporte, he has told United chiefs they must start spending big on defenders. United have been linked with a £50m summer swoop for Leicester’s Harry Maguire, and Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane. His most accomplished centre-half, Eric Bailly, is due back from injury at the end of this month.