Manchester United are plotting a late summer onslaught for Alejandro Balde, but Barcelona won’t sell him on the cheap.
The Red Devils have practically finalised their midfield reboot, with Carlos Baleba set to join Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, but they still need to find a left-back in the final week of the summer transfer window.
Luke Shaw is currently considered the only natural choice for the role, as Patrick Dorgu is being deployed further up the pitch, while Harry Amass is expected to leave the club.
Barcelona want €45 million for Alejandro Balde
After giving up on Lewis Hall (or at least delaying their plans for next summer), Man Utd have been considering other options, and two of them are young Spaniards who ply their trade in LaLiga.
The first is Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas (19), who was a revelation in Spain’s second division last season, while the second is Alejandro Balde (22), a Barcelona youth product who now finds himself at odds with Hansi Flick, who hasn’t been satisfied with his work rate this summer, thus dropping him from his matchday squad this weekend.
While Salinas is available for just €16 million thanks to a release clause inserted in his contract, Balde might cost almost triple.
According to The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell, Barcelona won’t relinquish the left-back for less than €45 million (£38.5 million).
“Clearly something’s not right with Balde, given what Hansi Flick has said,” noted the MUFC insider during the Talk of the Devil podcast.
“Speaking to our colleagues in Spain, who know more about this than I do, they’re saying €45 million is what Barcelona are looking for Balde.”
Whitwell added that Man Utd could be repelled by the price tag, as they might not be prepared to shell out a significant sum at this stage of the summer.
A previous report from ESPN claimed that United prefer to sign Balde on loan with an option to buy, but it is unlikely that the Catalan giants would consent to this formula.
Should Man United spend the cash on Balde?
In recent seasons, Balde was considered among the best left-backs in the world. However, his meteoric rise was interrupted by injuries, while Flick’s recent words regarding the player’s commitment should raise a few red flags.
Therefore, the recruitment team might not be too keen to make a large investment to sign the Spaniard, perhaps preferring to wait until next summer to launch a new onslaught for Hall, who could become available.
However, United need to sign a new left-back immediately, and if they are reluctant to meet Barcelona’s asking price, they must accelerate their attempts to buy Salinas before it’s too late, as Whitwell warns that Atletico Madrid are currently leading the race for the teenager.
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