Agent in UK to secure deal as Man Utd hold talks to sign 27y/o South American star

Manchester United are in talks to sign Alex Telles with the Porto defender’s agents already in the UK trying to thrash out a deal, according to reports in Portugal via the Express.

Telles has been an important player for Porto since arriving from Galatasaray in 2016 as the full-back has made over 200 appearances to help the club win 2 Primeira Liga titles and two domestic cups over the past four years.

However, the Brazilian’s future at the club is in serious doubt as Telles has just one year remaining on his current contract and has so far refused to commit himself to Porto by signing an extension.

The situation has alerted a number of clubs throughout Europe and Manchester United have been touted as potential suitors throughout the summer with TeamTalk carrying a report last month that claimed United had joined Chelsea in the race to sign Telles.

Chelsea have since snapped-up Ben Chilwell from Leicester City so Man Utd are in pole position if the South American wants to come to England and it seems Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have now stepped-up their interest.

The Express are citing a report from the paper version of A Bola [screenshot of the report can be seen here] that claims Man Utd have ‘intensified’ talks to sign Telles recently and the players agents are already in the UK trying to get a deal agreed.

Solskjaer has been tipped to sign a new left-back this summer and United have been heavily linked with a move for Real Madrid’s Sergio Reguilon in recent days but it looks as though the Manchester giants are also working on a potential deal for Telles.

The Portuguese outlet suggests that Sevilla are also keen on signing the 27-year-old after Reguilon returned to the Bernabeu following his loan spell but Manchester United are considered as the front-runners for his signature.

The Express says Porto are likely to settle for a deal worth less than £22m due to the fact Telles has less than a year left on his contract and that could be a tempting deal for United as they look to save funds for their pursuit of Jadon Sancho.

Left-back wasn’t expected to be a priority area that needed strengthening at United this summer as Luke Shaw finally put his injury problems behind him last season while Brandon Williams and Tim Fosu-Mensah also played in the position last year.

However, it appears Solskjaer is still looking to bring in another option at left-back and Telles would certainly boost United’s attacking output down the flank as he contributed 13 goals and 12 assists in 49 games for Porto last season.

We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming days but Telles could become Man Utd’s second major signing of the summer following the arrival of midfielder Donny van de Beek from Ajax last week.