According to The Telegraph, Manchester United are planning a surprise swoop for Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso as they look to shore up the left-back department.
Man United recently suffered a huge blow with Luke Shaw picking up a muscular injury. The Englishman has been ruled out of action until November, and this has left the club without a senior right-back with Tyrell Malacia also in the treatment room with a knee problem.
The Telegraph now report that Alonso is one of the options on the club’s radar as an emergency left-back. Apart from the Spaniard, the Premier League giants also have Chelsea star Marc Cucurella and Tottenham ace Sergio Reguilon under consideration to fill the left-back void.
Premier League experience
United are on the hunt for a new left-back with Shaw and Malacia on the sidelines. It is quite clear from their search that manager Erik ten Hag wants someone with Premier League experience. Alonso fits perfectly into that category, having made 176 appearances in the league. He accumulated 26 goals and 21 assists.
Alonso is currently out-of-favour under Barcelona head coach Xavi Hernandez and the Catalans could be persuaded to accept a bid for the Spaniard. United may ideally want a short-term deal for him, considering Shaw and Malacia are expected to make their comebacks before the end of the calendar year.
Diogo Dalot, who is generally a right-back, started in the left-back spot against Nottingham Forest last weekend, but he was far from impressive. The Portuguese was caught out-of-position as well as overlapped by opposition players, and United clearly a specialist in the role to fill the void left by the injury crisis.
Alonso is a Premier League proven from his successful spell at Chelsea, and would be a decent addition to the United squad before the transfer window slams shut on Friday. The big question mark is whether Barcelona would consider parting ways with him as he is the immediate back-up for Alejandro Balde.
