Manchester United are closely monitoring Racing Santander left-back Jorge Salinas, who has a preference to join Barcelona, according to Sport (page 8).
The Red Devils currently have Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu as senior left-back options, but the latter has primarily operated as a winger under manager Michael Carrick.
United are open to pursuing a young competitor to Shaw. Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall is a prime target, but he appears ‘untouchable‘ after the Magpies’ summer selling spree.
This could urge the club to look elsewhere. Sport now claim that United are keeping a close eye on Salinas and are ‘attentive’ to his current situation at Racing Santander.
The 19-year-old has been widely tipped to leave his club after their La Liga promotion.
Salinas has a release clause worth £13.7 million in his contract, and it is claimed that he is holding out for a move to Barcelona, given their track record of developing young players.
The Spanish champions have no plans of triggering his buy-out clause and would prefer to negotiate different terms. This could open the door for other clubs to enter the race.
Salinas had a productive 2025/26 campaign in La Liga 2. He won an impressive six duels per appearance alongside three tackles, three recoveries and three clearances.
The 19-year-old was also solid going forward with seven assists from 33 outings. He has primarily played as a left-back, but has occasionally made appearances in central defence too.
His versatility could be behind the ongoing interest in signing him. Sport have also mentioned Atletico Madrid as candidates to pursue a deal for the Spain Under-19 international.
Still, we doubt whether United are exploring a move for the youngster. He is represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes, who may have offered his services to the Red Devils this summer.
The ongoing link could be agent-driven to ensure that Barcelona speed up negotiations.
United are more likely to prefer someone with Premier League experience to compete with Shaw at left-back. If Hall is unattainable, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson could emerge as a target.
Stats from Sofascore