Man Utd told hefty price to sign Juventus left-back as update on Luke Shaw fitness emerges

Manchester United are reportedly eyeing a new Juventus signing as Erik ten Hag’s men seek to find cover for injured left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrella Malacia.

Man Utd spent approximately £180m (€214m / $236.6m) on transfer signings this summer, as minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe led the charge to return the club to its former glory.

In defence, they brought in centre-backs Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt from Lille and Bayern Munich respectively, while right-back Noussair Mazraoui also joined from the German giants.

Defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte signed on transfer deadline day (August 30) from Paris Saint-Germain and striker Joshua Zirkzee swapped Bologna for the Red Devils.

However, they are still somewhat short at left-back. Fortunately for manager Ten Hag, Diogo Dalot is a competent option in that role, albeit he is predominantly a right-back by trade.

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The Portugal international has been filling in for the injured 29-year-old Shaw and 25-year-old Malacia, who will hope to return to the first-team soon.

In mid-August, United revealed that Shaw – a £30m (€35.6m / $39m) signing from Southampton in 2014 – would miss the ‘opening games’ of the Premier League season due to a calf injury sustained at the start of pre-season.

The club added that the England international, who featured for the Three Lions in the latter stages of Euro 2024 after an injury-plagued 2023/24 campaign, could be available after the first international break ends in mid-September. Moreover, TEAMtalk understands that United hope Shaw will be available to face Southampton on September 14.

Malacia, on the other hand, may be a bit further away from a long-awaited return.

The £13m (€15m / $17m) signing, who joined from Feyenoord in 2022, missed all of last season due to a knee injury that required two surgeries to fix – plus, he missed the club’s pre-season tour of the United States this summer.

Ten Hag said in early August on the Netherlands international: “Tyrell is now in a good place. But he is not here because I only took players who could play games or be available for team training. He is not that far [off], but he is now in a progress situation.

“At a relatively short notice, he can again return into team training and then into team performance in games. I think it would be possible [to be available again] in two months.”

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Due to this left-back shortage, United have been linked with a move for Fulham defender Antonee Robinson – who is valued at £30m by the Cottagers.

The 27-year-old has impressed a great deal for Marco Silva’s men, so much so that United are allegedly considering making a move for the United States international in January.

Juventus left-back on Man Utd radar

Now, according to Italian publication Tutto Juve, United – who reportedly turned down the chance to sign Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell last month – are keeping tabs on new Juventus recruit Juan Cabal; six weeks after he joined from Hellas Verona.

The 23-year-old reportedly cost the Italian giants £10m (€12m / $13.2m) and already he has made a positive impact under new manager Thiago Motta.

The former Colombia Under-18 international, who signed on a five-year deal until the summer of 2029, has made three appearances for the Old Lady to date – all three of which have been starts.

According to the report, Cabal has impressed both in attack and defence and that has ‘seen him end up on Man Utd’s radar’.

Despite signing him for a relatively modest fee, Tutto Juve claim Juventus will demand at least around £25m (€30m / $33m) for his services. Whether this comes to anything remains to be seen.