“I’ll resign if they don’t bring him back…We can’t just lose him like that”: Man United’s coach Ruben Amorim has named ONE player the club must re-sign this January else he’ll leave
Manchester United are weighing up whether to rectify a transfer mistake by bringing a player sold only last summer back to the club, and a key clause should make a deal straightforward.
The Red Devils waved goodbye to a plethora of familiar faces last summer, with the likes of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Raphael Varane, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial, to name just six, all departing.
One deal that may have flown under the radar involved left-back Alvaro Carreras who despite being on Man Utd’s books for four years, never actually made his senior debut.
Man Utd generated a base fee of around €6m for the 21-year-old, with a further €3m in add-ons attached. However, Carreras’ spectacular form since moving to Benfica outright has made a mockery of that price tag.
Carreras has quickly established himself as a regular starter and is excelling at both ends of the pitch.
He’s bagged two goals and two assists from left-back, while he is the only player in the Champions League this season to have completed more than 10 tackles (11), 10 interceptions (12) and 10 dribbles (10). He was named man of the match in Benfica’s latest UCL clash with Bologna on Wednesday.
A fresh update from Spanish outlet Sport declared Carreras has ‘exploded’ at Benfica, prompting suggestions his stay in Portugal will be a short one.
Indeed, it’s claimed Barcelona are weighing up whether to make a move for Carreras who would provide back-up and stiff competition for Alejandro Balde.
However, transfer insider Rudy Galetti exclusively told TEAMtalk on Thursday that Carreras is one of a few left-backs Man Utd are targeting.
New boss Ruben Amorim wants a new left-sided defender to fill a wing-back role and the manager is an admirer of Carreras.
Adding further fuel to the fire is the fact Man Utd can re-sign Carreras for well below his true market value thanks to a key clause in his contract…
Man Utd can trigger Alvaro Carreras clause
Upon selling Carreras to Benfica, Man Utd successfully inserted a buy-back clause into the agreement.
United can re-sign the left-back for a fee understood to be worth £16m. That is essentially double the sum they received when add-ons are factored in, though would still represent a major bargain given Carreras’ sensational form this season.
Another – rather more high profile – left-back Man Utd have taken an interest in is Alphonso Davies.
However, The Athletic recently revealed Davies does not look favourably upon joining the Red Devils given the upheaval the club and their lack of Champions League football.
What’s more, Sky Germany report Bayern Munich have made ‘significant progress’ in tying Davies down to a new contract anyway.
With Davies almost certainly a non-factor in Man Utd’s hunt for a new left-back, Carreras along with Milos Kerkez (Bournemouth), Rayan Ait-Nouri (Wolves) and Miguel Gutierrez (Girona) are more realistic options coming under consideration.
In other news, the first signing in the Amorim era has been given Fabrizio Romano’s signature ‘here we go’ confirmation.
Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes has leapt to Andre Onana’s defence after the goalkeeper was criticised for his part in Viktoria Plzen’s goal on Thursday night.
“We want to play from the back and everyone knows that, then we have to make the right decision on the pitch,” said Fernandes post-match.
“Andre thought that Matthijs [De Ligt] could get on the ball but he missed it and they scored a goal. It is not about Andre making the mistake, we don’t look at individuals here when something happens on the wrong side.
“We have huge belief in him. He knows he made a mistake because he is a clever guy, he is going to help us many times and we trust his qualities on the ball.
“Mistakes are part of football. If they don’t happen then goals don’t happen. But we did well to show the resilience to come back and find the victory.”
Finally, numerous reports have all confirmed Man Utd intend to sell Marcus Rashford in 2025. Barcelona, Bayern Munich and PSG are all believed to be interested in exploring a move.
