Barcelona have put a Manchester United target up for sale, and the Red Devils could now pull the plug on their advancing deal with Newcastle in favour of taking up the sexier option from Catalonia.
The bulk of the transfer headlines at Man Utd this summer will be written in midfield. After Ederson, the Red Devils aim to sign one and more probably two more central midfielders.
Elliot Anderson won’t arrive, with Man Utd electing not to engage in a bidding war with Manchester City who have already offered a package totalling £121m. Instead, the focus is now on alternative targets, such as Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali.
Man Utd are also ramping up a move for Tonali’s Newcastle teammate, Lewis Hall. A left-back is wanted, and our insider, Graeme Bailey, brought news earlier in June of Man Utd’s three-man shortlist.
The trio of players INEOS were taking a close look at were Nathaniel Brown, Lewis Hall and Alejandro Balde.
Brown is now heading to Bayern Munich, with Man Utd opting to take a pass. Instead, they’re accelerating a deal to sign Newcastle’s Hall, who is valued around the £60m mark.
But according to the latest from Spanish outlet Marca, there could be a late change to Man Utd’s plans.
Barcelona put Alejandro Balde up for sale
They revealed Barcelona have now put Balde, 22, up for sale. The report declared: ‘[Balde] is one of the players they (Barcelona) consider transferable. In fact, they have put him on the market. They are waiting to see what happens.’
Interest from Manchester City was cited in the piece, but we can reaffirm Balde is also on Man Utd’s radar.
Regarding cost, Barcelona will reportedly accept a bid of around €50m / £43m, which is roughly £17m less than it will take to prise Hall out of St. James’ Park.
In the event Barcelona do sell Balde this summer, their replacement is projected to be Marc Cucurella.
The Chelsea left-back has requested to leave Stamford Bridge and the Blues won’t stand in his way if suitable bids are received. Naturally, the appeal of playing for one of Spain’s big two appeals to Cucurella.
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Marc Cucurella to replace Balde if he joins Man Utd
Marca stated: ‘Should [Balde’s] departure materialise, Barça would pursue the signing of Marc Cucurella. The Chelsea player is one of the Blaugrana’s top targets this summer.’
That comes after transfer guru Fabrizio Romano provided insight into Cucurella’s future earlier this week.
He explained: “At the moment it is still early and patience is required. However, if a suitable proposal arrives for both the club and the player, the possibility of Cucurella leaving Chelsea this summer remains open.
“Chelsea are not under pressure to sell and remain fully in control of the situation. A strong offer would be required to open the door to a transfer.
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“There is significant interest in Cucurella from Spain and the feeling is that a move back to his home country would be the most likely outcome if he decides to leave Chelsea.
“Spanish clubs currently appear to be more concrete possibilities than any links with other English clubs.
“This could include developments involving FC Barcelona, although nothing is advanced at this stage. The presence of Alejandro Balde means there is currently no active move.”
But with Barca now opening the doors to Balde’s sale, there could soon be a void for Cucurella to fill.