Manchester United\u2019s search for a new left-back is moving toward a decision point. Alejandro Balde has become a more concrete option in recent days, while a surprise move for Racing Santander teenager Jorge Salinas has also been discussed.<\/p>\n
The issue is less about targeting one individual than about the wider shape of the squad. Sergej Jakirovi\u0107 has actively looked to fill the space Luke Shaw leaves at full-back, and the left side remains an area United want to manage more carefully. Wayne Rooney once summed up his own view with a \u201cschoolboy\u201d swipe at the defender, but Shaw\u2019s broader record over the last 12 months has generally been encouraging.<\/p>\n
Even so, the need is clear. United want another option to share the burden with the injury prone 31-year-old, rather than leave the role to fall entirely on his shoulders. Newcastle United\u2019s Lewis Hall has been ruled out categorically, which reduces the list of possibilities, but it does not remove the problem.<\/p>\n
That is why the most realistic outcome may be the least satisfying one. United have built their recruitment strategy around specific priorities in recent windows, rather than broad spending. Last summer was devoted to rebuilding the frontline, and this year\u2019s outlay has been directed at central midfield, with those moves not yet paying off. Sky Sports News reports that the Red Devils are \u201cwilling\u201d to wait until next summer before focusing on a backline rebuild.<\/p>\n
Such an approach would carry obvious risk. Shaw started all 38 Premier League matches last season, something described as a minor miracle. Add eight Champions League appearances and a pair of deeper domestic cup runs, and the chances of another heavy workload taking a toll become harder to ignore. Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui can cover if needed, but they look more like serviceable stop-gaps than long-term answers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United\u2019s left-back search is narrowing, with Balde, Salinas and a possible delay all under consideration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[242,182],"class_list":["post-18742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united","tag-injury","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}