Man Utd eye swoop to sign 28-year-old star as Solskjaer plots 2nd summer signing

Manchester United are eyeing a move for Nicolas Tagliafico after identifying the Ajax left-back as an alternative to Porto’s Alex Telles, according to The Sun.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperately trying to add to his squad this summer as he looks to turn United back into title challengers again but he’s been frustrated in his attempts to sign several key transfer targets.

Left-back is an area Solskjaer is keen to strengthen as he wants competition for Luke Shaw and the Manchester giants missed out on Sergio Reguilon after the former Real Madrid man joined Tottenham earlier this month.

Telles has emerged as a prime target recently and The Sun claims Manchester United are in negotiations over a deal to sign the 27-year-old having seen an opening offer of Diogo Dalot plus cash rejected by Porto.

The newspaper says talks are continuing between the two clubs and Porto are ready to cash-in on Telles if £23m is put on the table as he’s in the last year of his contract so they don’t want to risk losing him for nothing.

However, Man Utd have so far refused to meet that asking price and The Sun claims the Red Devils have lined-up Tagliafico as a back-up target in-case Porto don’t lower their demands during the closing weeks of the window.

Tagliafico has been a key player for Ajax since joining the club from Independiente in 2018 and he contributed an impressive 5 goals and a further 7 assists in his 38 appearances last season.

However, the 28-year-old has less than a year left on his contract and The Sun says Ajax have put the left-back on the market this summer at £23m after failing to agree terms over a new contract extension.

It remains to be seen whether United will be prepared to pay that asking price but Tagliafico would be an excellent alternative if a deal can’t be reached with Porto to sign Telles.

Both players are attacking full-backs who would provide a real threat down the left flank at Manchester United so I think Telles or Tagliafico would be excellent signings for the Old Trafford club.

Solskjaer has only managed to bring-in midfielder Donny van de Beek this summer but it looks like Telles or Tagliafico could be his second major signing. The focus would then turn to landing an attacker with Jadon Sancho still the priority.