Manchester United have been offered a chance to sign FC Porto defender Alex Telles in a deal worth £22.7 million, according to Duncan Castles.
Speaking on The Transfer Window Podcast, as relayed by The Sun, reputed journalist Duncan Castles has claimed that Manchester United have been offered the chance to sign Brazilian left-back Alex Telles.
The 27-year-old Telles has been with FC Porto since 2016, having signed from Turkish giants Galatasaray. Over the years, the full-back has grown into a key performer for the Portuguese heavyweights, racking up 24 goals and 55 assists in 192 appearances.
Telles enjoyed one of his most prolific seasons last time out, as he plundered 13 goals and 12 assists from 49 appearances across all competitions in 2019/20. Now in the final year of his contract with the club, Telles has been linked heavily with an exit, and had emerged as a transfer target for Chelsea, before they signed Ben Chilwell.
And now, Castles has claimed that the one-time capped Brazilian international has been offered a chance to Manchester United in the current transfer window. Speaking on The Transfer Window Podcast, he said (h/t The Sun): “I can tell you that they’ve been offered the Porto left-back Alex Telles.
“Twenty-seven years old, relatively cheap wages, €2m [£1.8m] gross but out of contract in June 2021. Porto, I’m told, want €25m [£22.7m] for the player who has been offered to Paris Saint-Germain, that deal hasn’t been able to be concluded.”
Manchester United have Luke Shaw as the first-choice left-back with Brandon Williams, who enjoyed a breakthrough campaign in 2019/20 his understudy. However, Shaw’s sketchy injury record, coupled with Williams’ lack of experience at the highest level means that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could do with another seasoned left-back in the squad.
And this is something that Castles alluded to while speaking on the podcast. “[United] have been looking for a left-sided, left-footed centre-back and a left-back, or a full-back of some type, preferably a left-footed left-back,” he said.
However, with Paris Saint-Germain also in the mix, Manchester United might not have it straightforward to land the Brazilian. Apart from Telles, the 20-time English champions have also been linked with Real Madrid star Sergio Reguilon, who won the UEFA Europa League while on loan at Sevilla last season.
It has been a slow summer transfer window at Old Trafford, with Manchester United signing just the one player – Donny van de Beek, so far. With the season set to kick off imminently, it remains to be seen if the club do push for the signing of Telles.
