The little-known £26m defender who be on his way to Manchester United - if the rumours are trueplaceholder image
The little-known £26m defender who be on his way to Manchester United - if the rumours are true | Getty Images
Man United have been linked with a defender who wasn’t widely-known before this season - but are the stories true?
Manchester United may not end up being the busiest club in the Premier League this January, but the gossip columns are still full to bursting with suggestions for players that they might buy over the winter anyway – with one name recently added to the long list of rumours raising a few eyebrows.
Several media outlets have named Elche centre-back David Affengruber as a potential January target – not a well-known name, by any means, but a player who could be purchased within United’s relatively limited remaining transfer budget. But are the rumours reliable, and would Affengruber offer any answers at the back?
Why Manchester United might want to sign David Affengruber
The 24-year-old Affengruber is only now taking part in his first season in one of Europe’s ‘big five’ leagues – having spent time at RB Salzburg and Sturm Graz, he moved to Elche ahead of the 2024/25 campaign and spent a season in the Spanish second tier before helping them to get promoted over the summer.
The Austrian has certainly been impressive in La Liga and his playing style – good in the air and decisive on the ground but relatively limited in technical terms – has drawn comparisons with Matthijs de Ligt.
He certainly has the Dutchman’s excellent judgement in the tackle, positional reliability and ability to deal with high balls despite not being especially tall (Affengruber is recorded as 6’1”) and his performances in the Spanish top flight lend credence to the notion that a top-level team could see him as a solution to a defensive depth issue.
The drawbacks Affengruber comes with are much the same as De Ligt’s as well. He’s very much in the middle of the pack when it comes to the quality of his passing (both in terms of short-distance accuracy and his ability to spark attacking moves with more direct plays) and while not necessarily a liability at the ball at his feet, he isn’t likely to take the ball out from the back himself and does lack some resistance to the high press.
If those downsides don’t concern Ruben Amorim or United’s recruitment team then there is plenty to appreciate, but he is unlikely to suit a side that wants to play with a relatively high line or one that wants to build out from the back. It’s worth noting that his qualities have not yet been sufficient to earn him a cap for Austria, either, although he did play for them at Under-21 level.
How reliable are rumours linking United with Affengruber?
Even with a number of good performances at the top level beneath his belt, Affengruber’s name may still seem to have come from somewhere out of leftfield – and there are valid reasons to doubt that United will bid for him this January.
Part of the cause for doubt is purely practical. While United do want extra defensive depth, they have enough centre-backs to get through the season without alarms and the back three has not been a particularly significant problem for Amorim so far this season. Midfielders and forwards are likely to be a more pressing concern.
The other issue with the stories is that while several websites have now covered the story, none of the best sources for United transfer news have corroborated it so far. The recent rash of stories appear to have started with TeamTalk, but they weren’t the first media outlet to make the link. Although it gained less traction the first time around, the link between Affengruber and United was also floated back in October – and the first source for that story, Spanish website Fichajes, is not one we would consider to be trustworthy. The origin point for this rumour is not the most promising.
On the other hand, if TeamTalk’s reporting is indeed accurate, then his supposed price tag - €30m (£26.2m) is at least within United’s grasp. After an expensive summer, United have relatively little room to play with when it comes to ensuring compliance with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules – but a fee in the region of £25m would be manageable, whereas rumoured moves for players like Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton would surely not be.
Affengruber would likely be a respectable addition to United’s rotation but is perhaps unlikely to be the difference between European qualification and missing out once again. It’s challenging to envisage him as an urgent priority rather than as a player who is under long-term observation. It may well be that the gossip circulating is all a little excitable. Then again, United’s work in the transfer market has sprung some surprises before.
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