Manchester United may stand a genuine chance at landing Alejandro Balde, who is now willing to leave Barcelona.
The Red Devils have practically finalised their midfield revamp, as they’re about to add Carlos Baleba to their squad. The Cameroonian will join Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, who signed for United last month.
Therefore, INEOS can now primarily focus on recruiting a new left-back in the final days of the summer transfer window.
Man Utd target Alejandro Balde open to Barcelona exit
At the start of the summer, United were keen to buy Lewis Hall, identifying him as the perfect long-term replacement for Luke Shaw. However, Newcastle United refused to negotiate a deal with their rivals, especially after selling three key players already: Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, and Bruno Guimaraes.
Therefore, Man Utd have turned to alternative solutions, including Balde, who has been unsettled in Catalunya.
The 22-year-old is a Blaugrana youth product who went on to cement himself a regular starting berth, but his momentum was halted by injuries.
In recent days, Balde has reportedly been made aware of Man Utd’s interest by his agent, Jorge Mendes.
According to Sport, the Spaniard has now given the Portuguese super-agent the green light to find him a new club after being left out of Barcelona’s first matchday squad of the season.
His head coach, Hansi Flick, commented on the issue by saying he will only call up players who are ‘100% committed’ to the cause, thus implying that Balde could indeed be on his way out.
The Catalan news portal notes that Barcelona had previously valued their left-back at €40-50 million, but United could still go for a cheaper option in Jorge Salinas. The 19-year-old Racing Santander player has a €16 million release clause.
Would Balde be the right option for Man United
Last year, FourFourTwo listed Balde as the second-best left-back in the world, only behind PSG star Nuno Mendes. The source hailed the Barcelona academy product for his ‘devastating’ attacking forays.
The Spaniard is a modern full-back who enjoys pushing forward, but tends to leave spaces behind him. Nevertheless, the metrics below depict a player who excels in defensive and aerial duels.
| Percentiles | Crosses cmp | xA | Prog passes | Poss won | Def duel% | Aerial duel% | Prog carries | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Alejandro Balde
|
30.4 | 77.8 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 95.8 | 71.3 | 89.8 | 2057 |
|
Luke Shaw
|
18.0 | 9.0 | 63.3 | 44.9 | 51.1 | 78.1 | 53.1 | 3521 |
|
Lewis Hall
|
33.2 | 63.3 | 83.8 | 81.5 | 70.8 | 56.1 | 67.3 | 2479 |
(Stats via DataMB)
That being said, the numbers don’t always tell the whole story, as Balde’s stats were registered while featuring in Flick’s ultra-high defensive line, with the Spanish champions smothering their opponents inside their own areas.
Therefore, it is up to the scouting and recruitment departments to determine whether or not the 22-year-old would be equally functional in Michael Carrick’s more traditional system.
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