Alejandro Balde's Future at Barcelona: United's Pursuit Intensifies
Alejandro Balde’s Barcelona future was thrown into sharp focus on Sunday night – without him kicking a ball.
The Spain international was one of the standout omissions from Hansi Flick’s 21-man squad that travelled to Alicante for Barça’s delayed LaLiga opener against Elche, a decision that lands right in the middle of intensifying interest from Manchester United.
United circle as Balde sits out
Balde’s absence comes just as reports in Spain and England align on one key point: United have moved him to the top of their left-back shortlist as they hunt a long-term successor to Luke Shaw before the window shuts on September 1.
United are understood to have stepped up their pursuit in recent days, with multiple reports claiming the club have already opened talks with agent Jorge Mendes over the framework of a possible deal. Mendes, who represents Balde, has been a central figure in the story.
On Friday, Spanish reports relayed by Sport Witness said Mendes had been in Catalonia for discussions with Barcelona, initially to finalise Joao Cancelo’s return to Camp Nou. While there, he is said to have also held talks over two more of his clients: Balde and Marc Casado.
Flick is believed to be reluctant to lose Balde. Yet the 22-year-old’s omission from the travelling party to Elche – and the fact he was left out alongside fellow players who are also the subject of transfer speculation, Casado and Hector Fort – will only fuel the sense that United’s interest is serious and potentially well-timed.
Spanish outlet Jijantes have gone further, reporting that Balde himself wants to leave Barcelona in the final days of the window, with Mendes now working to secure him a new club.
United’s left-back search widens
United’s need is clear. Shaw, who turned 31 last month, is into the final year of his contract at Old Trafford, even though the club still hold an option to extend that deal by a further 12 months. Planning for life beyond him has begun in earnest.
Lewis Hall had been regarded as their preferred option at left-back. But every time United looked towards Newcastle, they hit a brick wall. After already losing Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer, Newcastle have been in no mood to sanction another major exit.
There have been faint suggestions of a late United bid for Hall, yet with just over a week left in the window, that move is viewed as virtually impossible to pull off.
So the search has broadened. RB Leipzig captain David Raum has been linked. So has Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas, who is also on Atletico Madrid’s radar. Eintracht Frankfurt defender Nathaniel Brown is another name said to be under consideration.
Even with that list, Balde’s situation at Barcelona now looks like the most dynamic storyline on United’s radar.
Carrick’s needs laid bare
The timing is not accidental. United have only just wrapped up their major midfield business with the signing of Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, a deal worth an initial £65million plus a further £5m in add-ons, giving Michael Carrick the third central midfielder he wanted this summer.
With that priority box ticked, the focus inside Old Trafford has swung back to the left side of defence – an area brutally exposed on the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Carrick watched his side fall 2-0 away to newly-promoted Hull, a flat, worrying performance that followed a grim end to pre-season, capped by a 4-2 defeat to an AC Milan side coached by former United boss Ruben Amorim. The pattern was hard to ignore: too open, too fragile, and too easy to get at down the flanks.
That vulnerability has only sharpened the urgency to land a new left-back.
Now Balde, left at home while Barcelona begin their title defence, sits at the centre of it all. With Mendes in motion and the clock ticking towards September 1, the question is no longer whether United will move – but whether Barcelona are really prepared to let him walk.
