Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Barcelona ponder Man Utd raid as Brazilian star slots onto five-man transfer shortlist

Fred celebrates scoring for Man Utd with Alex Telles

Alex Telles features on a five-man shortlist of left-back targets for Barcelona should he consider his Manchester United future, it has been claimed.

Man Utd signed Telles from FC Porto in October 2020. It seemed like a smart signing at the time given his experience and quality. Due to a range of factors, though, he hasn’t quite made the expected impression.

He missed a few matches due to Covid-19 in his first month at the club. What’s more, existing Man Utd left-back Luke Shaw regained his own form, thus nailing down the starting spot.

Still, it has been useful for United to have a player like Telles to provide competition. He ended his debut season with 24 appearances in all competitions, but less than half of those came in the Premier League.

This term so far, Telles has played 10 times in total, including seven Premier League outings. He has registered one assist in the top-flight and one goal in the Champions League.

But Shaw remains the first-choice full-back on the left. Therefore, questions could be asked of Telles’ long-term future. The 29-year-old is still under contract until 2024, but could get more gametime elsewhere.

According to respected reporter Gerard Romero, the solution could come from Barcelona.

Barcelona offer Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United in swap deal

Barcelona offer Ousmane Dembele to Manchester United in swap deal

Manchester United have reportedly been offered a swap deal from Barcelona involving French attackers Anthony Martial and Ousmane Dembele.

Romero recently claimed Telles is one of five options Barca are considering as they aim to find more competition for Jordi Alba, who is their only senior player in the position.

They would prefer to sign Jose Gaya from Valencia or Alex Grimaldo from Benfica, but neither would be easy to acquire. Therefore, they have drafted up a list of five alternatives.

Telles finds himself among that group, along with Alex Sandro of Juventus, Nicolas Tagliafico of Ajax, Raphael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund and Alfonso Pedraza of Villarreal.

Brazil international Telles has never played club football in La Liga. His journey to Man Utd included spells in his home country, plus Turkey, Italy and Portugal.

Alex Telles, Manchester United warm-up

Barcelona could therefore offer him a route into Spanish football. It is not clear whether Man Utd would be willing to offload him, or on what terms.

Prem defender catches Man Utd attention amid Telles transfer talk

Meanwhile, in terms of incomings at Old Trafford, Wolves defender Max Kilman – who is a centre-back but can play on the left – has been linked.

According to 90min, interim manager Ralf Rangnick recently delivered his in-depth assessment of the Man Utd squad in a meeting.

He expressed his thoughts to the likes of director of football John Murtough and new chief executive Richard Arnold.

And Wolves’ English defender Kilman was one player Rangnick urged Man Utd to look closely at.

The Molineux club signed him from Maidenhead United in August 2018 as a potential breakthrough star.

After impressing in the club’s Under-23s side in his debut season, he made his Premier League debut at the end of that campaign.

Since then, he has been a part of the Wolves first team. Indeed, he was a regularly in the matchday squad and made 11 outings in all competitions in the 2019/20 season.

Last term, he made 18 Premier League appearances. But this campaign has been his true breakthrough season as he has played every minute of the campaign under Bruno Lage this season.

As such, Rangnick has urged United to continue to monitor the player’s top-flight development.

For now, Kilman – 24 years of age – has a contract until 2026 with the option of a further year.

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