Manchester United could save £46million if they do not sign Lewis Hall from Newcastle. The club are said to be weighing up a move for Racing Santander defender Jorge Salinas, who would cost considerably less to sign.
However, Newcastle are not planning on selling Hall and would expect at least £60m before they would even consider letting him leave. With this in mind, United may opt for a younger and cheaper option to shore up their left-hand side and Salinas may be that star.
Spanish publication SPORT reports that the Santander full-back has emerged as a target, with Michael Carrick’s side holding a genuine interest in the 19-year-old. Although he is open to a switch to Barcelona, United could opt to make a move ahead of the La Liga champions and trigger his £13.7m (€16m) release clause.
This would, in turn, save the club a whopping £46m, as they wouldn’t be forking out upwards of £60m to pry Hall away from Newcastle. Salinas was instrumental in helping his boyhood club secure promotion to La Liga last season and is seen as a rising star in Europe.
However, Barca view the defender as the ideal replacement for Joao Cancelo, who is set to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. United have been monitoring Salinas closely and were pleased by his displays at this summer’s European Under-19 Championship, where Spain lifted the trophy.
United’s preferred left-back remains Luke Shaw, and the former Southampton man has proven himself a reliable and consistent performer. However, injuries have plagued him throughout his career and the versatile defender has now reached the age of 31.
United have already brought in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos this summer, with strengthening their midfield a key priority for the Red Devils.
Further quality additions in that department remain possible, but the left-back position has also been identified as one where the squad could be meaningfully improved.