Man Utd attracted to Atletico Madrid star Pubill with €500m release clause

Manchester United are one of a few big sides monitoring expensive Atletico Madrid star Marc Pubill, reports Caught Offside.

United are on the hunt for fresh talent after a third-placed finish secured their spot in next season's Champions League. We've entered Michael Carrick's first transfer window as Red Devils boss and he'll want some fresh talent.

Midfield moves are a priority and Atalanta's Ederson looks likely to be the first man through the door, but defensive moves have been advocated for, and United are on the hunt there, too.

It's reported they are monitoring Atletico's Pubill, who's capable both as a right-back and centre-back.

It's said his flexibility has caught the attention of multiple top clubs, with United joined by Liverpool, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

That suggests it could be something of a battle for United to secure his services, and the release clause protecting him will make it quite the uphill battle, as they'd have to pay a large sum for Atletico to consider selling Pubill below it.

Pubill's huge release clause

Spanish outlet AS reported recently that some close to the player suggested he's got a near-€500million (£433m) clause in his contract, as a result of a deal he signed when joining the club from Almeria last summer, which runs until 2030.

As a result of that, an enquiry from any club, United or otherwise, will end with a move being 'impossible'.

It's suggested that Atletico want to hand Pubill a new deal with an elevated salary, as he's one of their lowest earners but it's felt he has a huge ceiling and could be one of the club's most important players soon.

Keeping him on side with a higher salary, coupled with a huge release clause, does indeed seem to suggest the Atletico man won't be going anywhere any time soon.

For United, they might be best served looking elsewhere amid their desire to land a versatile defender who can play both in the middle and one at least one of the wide positions.

There have been links of late with both Neco Williams and Lewis Hall, the latter of which reportedly wants to leave Newcastle, though both are purely full-backs, so while they'd add an important piece to the United squad, they wouldn't do the same job as Pubill.