Barcelona target Manchester United ace Alex Telles as replacement for Jordi Alba
According to the Catalan news outlet El Nacional (h/t Manchester Evening News), Barcelona have identified Manchester United defender Alex Telles as a transfer target to replace Jordi Alba. Telles has enjoyed a solid time recently, which has seen him temporarily displaced Luke Shaw as the main left-back in the team.
The 29-year-old moved to Old Trafford from Porto in 2020 for £13.6million plus £1.8milllion in add-ons. He has featured in 32 games for the Red Devils and has scored one goal with four assists during that time. Following a successful stint in Portugal, minutes were hard to come by for him under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Solskjaer mostly preferred Shaw over the Brazilian, but the latter did put in solid performances whenever he was called to action. It has changed under Rangnick with the help of some fortune and his attacking playstyle, which fits in well with our current system.
Unlikely to happen
It is hard to see the club entertaining such interest looking at our current circumstances. The Red Devils left-back duo would drive each other to be better, and the German manager would ensure that minutes would be available to whoever impresses him. In such a case, it would not be smart of us if we purposefully weaken ourselves unless a replacement is lined up.
We are involved in multiple competitions throughout this season, and we would need all the players to help us get through it. The campaign is quite long, and there will be many obstacles along the way. We would need to use the duo as the situation demands to keep them fresh until the end.
Not to mention, the current Covid situation makes it even more necessary that we do not thin down our squad in recent future. The interim coach has not yet fully assessed what he has and would need adequate time to do the particular task. It would not make sense to tweak the team without fully grasping what the players could offer.
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Taking a closer look at the Blaugrana club, they are in a financial crisis and would need all the money they can get ahead of next season. Those who followed them would know that they have tried to go back to their roots and promote youngsters from La Masia to help them in this situation.
For Telles, it doesn’t seem smart for him to give up on this exciting project under Rangnick for a club such as Barcelona that isn’t in the best place. It’s not like he is strictly a backup to Shaw anymore- he is finally getting minutes on a regular basis and it will only make sense if we stick with him until he gives us a reason not to.
