Man Utd admit defeat after Barcelona fears prompt second choice call on unhappy Ten Hag starter

Man Utd are ready to activate a contract option on one of their regular starters amid fears Barcelona could poach the allegedly unhappy star.

Erik ten Hag is quietly going about turning Manchester United’s ship around. Much of the dead weight in the squad was moved on over the summer, with Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata and Paul Pogba for example all leaving as free agents.

United spent over £200m on new recruits. While they were criticised for overspending at the time, many of their new faces have made immediate impacts.

Lisandro Martinez is arguably their No 1 centre-back right now. Antony, meanwhile, has looked explosive on the right wing and has three goals in his first three Premier League matches.

However, Ten Hag also set about overhauling the club off the pitch, specifically regarding player contracts.

The Telegraph reported the Dutchman wants a more ruthless approach taken by the club’s decision-makers. The feeling is United have been all too willing to hand out new deals to players who weren’t fully deserving in the past.

Man Utd generally insert one-year club options in most of their players’ contracts. The idea is to give the club breathing room in case a new, longer-term deal can’t be agreed.

It also protects their investment and gives them more time to find a suitable buyer if the decision to sell is made.

One player with such a clause in his contract is Portuguese right-back Diogo Dalot.

The 23-year-old is Ten Hag’s undisputed first choice right now, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka barely getting a sniff these days.

Dalot’s contract expires in 2023 and per Fabrizio Romano, United want a long-term deal signed.

United forced into Dalot plan B

The transfer guru stated late in September: “Man Utd are not stupid. They see Dalot is doing fantastic and so they could be ready to activate the option.

“But they’ll only activate the option if they’re unable to reach an agreement with Dalot over a new [long-term] contract.”

A lengthier deal would be ideal, but according to ESPN, Man Utd will have to settle for plan B.

Barcelona are known admirers of Dalot and are seeking a long-term option at right-back. They loaned out Sergino Dest to AC Milan, while Hector Bellerin has hardly featured since joining.

Sergi Roberto is still on the books, but Xavi has often played a centre-back such as Jules Kounde out of position. Clearly, Barcelona require a more stable upgrade.

Talk of a switch to the Camp Nou for Dalot continues to pervade the media. Adding fuel to the fire is the claims he’s not all that enamoured with Ten Hag’s project.

Calciomercato report Dalot wants out, while Spanish outlet Sport reckon he’s not sold on Ten Hag’s vision.

With the Barcelona spectre hanging over Man Utd, ESPN report they’ll protect their investment by triggering his one-year extension.

The outlet state that decision will be made in direct response to fears Barcelona could swoop. A call on a longer-term extension will seemingly be put on the backburner for now.

Man Utd lining up Dalot upgrade anyway?

United continue to be linked with Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries. The Dutch international would represent a startling attacking upgrade if his recent statistics are anything to go by.

Since the beginning of last season in club football, Dumfries has bagged seven goals and nine assists from either right-back or right wing-back. By contrast, Dalot has returned zero goals and just two assists.

However, if Dumfries were signed, it’s likely Wan-Bissaka would be the fall guy and Dalot and Dumfries compete for minutes.

Today’s latest on Dumfries claimed Inter are already hunting for replacements ahead of a potential January exit.

If he did depart, a deal would reportedly cost United between £39m-£43m.

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