Manchester United will have a new opportunity to sign Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde in the winter market after missing out on him in the summer window.
Michael Carrick has Luke Shaw and Harry Amass as his two recognised left-backs, while Patrick Dorgu can also operate in that position. Shaw and Dorgu are on the sidelines with injuries.
This has forced Carrick to utilise Diogo Dalot as a left-back and Leny Yoro as a right-back in recent weeks.
Manchester United have endured a horror start to the season, winning only two matches so far. After the 2-0 defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, they are nine matches without a win.
The poor run has seen them sit 17th in the table, level on points with 18th placed Crystal Palace.
Manchester United’s interest in Barcelona man
Towards the end of the last window, the Red Devils tried to sign Alejandro Balde. However, the Barcelona academy graduate was against the idea of leaving the Camp Nou.
The 23-year-old’s decision to stay hasn’t worked out well. He made his first appearance of the season in the 7-2 win over Racing Santander in September. Since then, the Spain international made three more appearances, playing 116 minutes from four matches.
Balde is behind João Cancelo and right-back Xavi Espart in the pecking order and hasn’t impressed when given opportunities. Monday’s print edition of Mundo Deportivo states he’s ‘increasingly accepting that if he wants to play more minutes, he’ll have to leave Barca’.
Sources close to the fullback state he’s unhappy that Flick hasn’t directly informed him about his role. He has largely found out about it from the press. He’s also struggling to understand how to convince Flick in training if the coach utilises him in another position.
Manchester United, who made contact last summer, can offer him an escape route in the next window.
Manchester United option for Balde
The series of events at Barcelona is pushing Alejandro Balde to change clubs in January. He’s ‘attracted to the idea’ of playing in the Premier League, where the Red Devils remain an option.
Should there be no change in the Spaniard’s situation until January, he will then listen to offers.
In fact, he wouldn’t mind a solution like Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo, who moved to Liverpool on loan in the summer.
However, Barcelona are only considering the player’s sale, to help them raise funds, and not a loan move. The newspaper makes no mention of the price.
Hansi Flick’s side are aware that Manchester United have the financial resources to carry out Balde’s signing. Unlike the summer, the situation is much more favourable for the English club in January.
To sum it up, he’s most likely to leave in January, and a move to Old Trafford is building up.
