Manchester United are reportedly showing a strong interest in signing Barcelona star Alejandro Balde, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.
After ranking through the Blaugrana’s famous La Masia academy, the youngster made his first team debut back in 2021 before establishing himself as a key player. The Spaniard has been in fine form this season, making seven goal contributions and keeping five clean sheets in all competitions.
Now, Fichajes claim that having been impressed by the 21-year-old’s performances this season, Man Utd have expressed a strong interest in hiring him.
Ruben Amorim’s side believe Balde would be the perfect option to strengthen the LWB position so they have already started planning to make a formal proposal to seal the deal.
The youngster is valued at around £42m by Transfermarkt and has a contract until 2028 with the Catalan giants. Therefore, they are in a strong position to demand a big fee for him and United are willing to make a considerable financial effort to persuade Barcelona to let him leave.
Balde to Man Utd
However, other European clubs, the name of those teams isn’t mentioned in the article, are also interested in him. Therefore, Man Utd will have to overcome stiff competition to get the deal done.
Balde plays in the fullback role for Barcelona but is an attack-minded player so he can also play in the LWB position. He is quick, technically sound and can play threading passes between the lines.
Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui were Man Utd’s regular wing-back options before Patrick Dorgu arrived in the winter window. However, neither Dalot nor Mazraoui has managed to showcase their best in the wing-back role as they are more comfortable in the fullback position.
So, United are reportedly looking to hire Geovany Quenda to bolster the RWB position. But, signing a new LWB to support Dorgu would be the right decision for Man Utd and Balde could be a shrewd acquisition.
However, the Barcelona star has struggled with injury problems in recent years so Amorim’s side need to be careful about that as they already have several injury-prone players.
It is going to be interesting to see whether the record Premier League champions eventually make a concrete approach to sign Balde next summer.
