Man Utd make decision on moving for David Alaba in out-of-window transfer – journalist

Manchester United insider Tyrone Marshall has revealed whether the club will be moving for former Real Madrid defender David Alaba in an out-of-window transfer.

United made only four first-team signings in the summer, three in midfield and one of reserve goalkeeper, Karl Darlow. The midfield was identified as the priority, with Casemiro leaving and Manuel Ugarte suffering a long-term injury.

But some Red Devils fans have suggested that moves in defence would have been ideal, with the presence of former target Alaba as a free agent rousing some.

Manchester Evening News correspondent Marshall has been asked about out-of-window defensive moves such as that.

He said: “From what I have been told, United aren’t looking at the free agent market. Many of these players available are past their best; [Sergio] Ramos and [Dani] Carvajal certainly fit that description. Others have been released because their games have regressed, such as Alaba.

“Essentially, they are free agents for a reason, but they are also players who in the past have been paid very handsomely. They don’t fit the recruitment model that INEOS have introduced at Old Trafford.”

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Man Utd could be left short in defence – Gary Neville

United legend Gary Neville is among those who feel United could have problems in defence, especially in the case of injuries.

He said on Sky Sports: “Carrick knew he needed defenders, apparently they went for [Rayan] Ait Nouri ,late on and if Shaw – who does tend to get injured – and Maguire got injured, it would be a real problem.

“They’ve left themselves short in defence.”

Neville detailed how the midfield was the priority in the summer.

He said: “They had to deal with the midfield; they only had one player in Mainoo, so they had to get three in midfield, that was absolutely essential – whether you could argue they got the right players in midfield, we will find that out in the next six to eight months.

“They obviously liked [Sandro] Tonali, [Elliot] Anderson and [Mateus] Fernandes, but they went for £80-£100m and that would have swept up too much of their transfer budget and the volume of players they needed as Ugarte – who nobody thought was good enough anyway – also got injured in the World Cup, so they had to deal with that.”