Alejandro Balde’s Transfer Links to Manchester United Intensify

Alejandro Balde’s Manchester United links have moved up a gear after the Barcelona left-back was left out of Hansi Flick’s travelling squad for Sunday night’s clash with Elche in Alicante.

The 22-year-old was one of the most eye-catching omissions from Flick’s 21-man group as Barça belatedly begin their LaLiga title defence, and his absence arrives right in the middle of intensifying transfer noise from England.

United circle as Balde sits out

Balde has rapidly climbed United’s list of targets for the left-back role, with the Premier League club pushing to bring in a long-term successor to Luke Shaw before the window shuts on September 1.

Reports in recent days have detailed United’s growing interest, including claims that the club have already made contact with super-agent Jorge Mendes to explore the framework of a potential deal. Spanish outlets, relayed by Sport Witness, say Mendes met Barcelona officials on Friday to discuss two of his clients, Balde and Marc Casado, during a trip to Catalonia that was initially focused on finalising Joao Cancelo’s return to Camp Nou.

Flick is understood not to be keen on losing Balde. Yet the defender’s omission from the Elche trip, alongside fellow transfer candidates Casado and Hector Fort, will only fuel the sense that United’s pursuit has a real chance of success.

Adding to that, Jijantes report that Balde himself wants to leave Barcelona in the final days of the window, with Mendes now working to secure him a new destination.

United’s left-back hunt intensifies

United’s need on the left side of defence is clear. Shaw turned 31 last month and has entered the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, though the club hold an option to extend that deal by a further 12 months. Planning for life beyond him has become a priority.

Lewis Hall had been identified as the preferred option earlier in the summer, but United ran into a brick wall. Newcastle, already braced for a window in which they have lost Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon, are described as unwilling to sanction another major departure. Talk of a late move for Hall has lingered, but with just over a week left in the market, any deal looks virtually unworkable.

So attention has swung firmly back to alternatives. RB Leipzig captain David Raum has been linked, as has Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas, who is also on Atletico Madrid’s radar. Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown is another name in the frame.

Balde, though, is the one whose situation suddenly feels volatile.

Carrick’s urgency laid bare

United’s recruitment focus had briefly shifted to midfield, where they finally landed Brighton’s Carlos Baleba in a deal worth an initial £65million plus £5m in add-ons, completing the club’s planned trio of midfield arrivals for the summer.

Any sense of satisfaction from that move did not last long. On the opening day of the new Premier League season, Michael Carrick watched his side slump to a 2-0 defeat away to newly-promoted Hull, a flat, disjointed performance that followed a worrying pre-season finale – a 4-2 loss to an AC Milan team led by former United boss Ruben Amorim.

Those back-to-back setbacks have underlined the need for further surgery on the squad, particularly down the left side of the back line.

Now, with Balde out of Barcelona’s matchday plans and the clock ticking towards deadline day, United’s search for a new left-back has a clear focal point. Whether Barcelona blink, and whether Balde forces the issue, could define how Carrick’s first full season takes shape.