Man Utd receive green light to sign Carrick's top target
Barcelona are reportedly willing to let Manchester United target Alejandro Balde leave the club on loan during the upcoming January transfer window.
The Spaniard has fallen behind Xavi Espart in the pecking order at Camp Nou and he has been an unused substitute in six of their eight fixtures across all competitions so far this term.
Man Utd were heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old over the summer and their interest in his signature hasn’t disappeared following their failure to bolster their options at left-back before the end of Transfer Deadline Day.
TEAMtalk report that Barcelona have given Balde permission to leave the club when the January window opens, with his camp now exploring several transfer options across Europe, including Everton, Fulham, Liverpool and Sunderland.
It’s claimed that a loan deal is currently favoured by Barcelona, although he has less than two years remaining on his contract at Camp Nou and a permanent transfer could feasibly be on the cards if Man Utd submit a suitable offer.
Balde has only racked up 12 minutes of action out of a possible 720 for Barcelona so far this campaign and the club have now given him the green light to leave in January, with the player understood to be open to the prospect of moving to the Premier League.
Man Utd were interested in Lewis Hall and Nathaniel Brown over the summer, but the former has now signed a new long-term contract at Newcastle United, while the latter joined Bayern Munich for a fee of €50 million following an impressive World Cup for Germany.
As a result, Michael Carrick’s side have been forced to identify alternative left-back targets amid their pursuit of a player capable of challenging Luke Shaw for a starting XI place, and Balde is now among their primary candidates for the role.
Would Alejandro Balde start for Man Utd?
While Balde has struggled for game time at Barcelona this season, he was previously regarded as one of the best left-back talents in Europe and the Man Utd hierarchy reportedly believe that he still has immense potential despite his recent dip in form.
However, he would likely play a back-up role to the aforementioned Shaw upon his arrival, if Man Utd are able to finalise a deal in January, before eventually usurping the ex-England international in the Red Devils’ preferred XI.
Balde already has 169 first-team appearances for Barcelona under his belt and a move away from Camp Nou could be exactly what he needs to kickstart his career.
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