Man Utd make contact with Barcelona over injured star | OneFootball

Manchester United are said to have made contact with Barcelona over versatile defender Andreas Christensen, even though he has not played since August because of an Achilles tendon injury.

The 28-year-old featured for 26 minutes of Barcelona's opening LaLiga game against Valencia but suffered a reoccurrence of an Achilles issue that first dogged him in March.

Christensen has missed Barcelona's last 30 games across all competitions as a result, watching on from the sidelines as the club's early season form has been eroded away by a catalogue of disastrous defeats - Atletico Madrid now top the table ahead of Real Madrid, with Barca in third and trailing by six points.

Spanish publication SPORT report that Barcelona's change in stance on selling Ronald Araujo - he had been strongly linked with Juventus and was also a reported target for Arsenal - has prompted the club to re-evaluate who they may be willing to let go in January.

Christensen's name is mentioned alongside Eric Garcia, with the report going on to mention that United, who are 14th in the Premier League table but did enjoy a memorable FA Cup third round win over Arsenal on Sunday, have been in contact over the former Chelsea star.

Nothing is said to have advanced beyond an enquiry from United who do appear, on the surface at least, to be well-stocked in the centre-back department.

Harry Maguire is enjoying a resurgence in the heart of a back three, flanked by a combination of Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and, at times, flying full-back Noussair Mazraoui.

Christensen is also capable of playing in the defensive midfield holding role - he has operated for Barcelona in that position a number of times - though again United have Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro on the books, with Kobbie Mainoo and Christian Eriksen also able to drop deeper if required.

At the very least, Barcelona are likely to try and push somebody out of the exit door, owing to the continued delicacy of their finances. The club have only just succeeded in temporarily registering Dani Olmo until early April, with sales in January and in the summer the only feasible way that potential new signings can possibly be paid for.