£43m full-back dropped from season-opener after Romano confirms Man Utd have approached his agents | OneFootball

Alejandro Balde was omitted from Barcelona’s matchday squad against Elche last night amid growing uncertainty over his future.

The 22-year-old was among three players to have been left out for Barcelona’s La Liga opener, along with Marc Casado and Hector Fort.

Alejandro Balde to MUFC: What’s been said?

Fabrizio Romano revealed towards the end of last week that Manchester United had approached Balde’s agents to gauge whether a deal would be feasible this summer.

They are in the market for a young but proven left-back, and the Catalan giants are seemingly looking to cash in while their academy graduate has suitors interested.

Reports over the weekend have even suggested that Balde has already privately green-lit a switch to Old Trafford, despite wanting to stay at Barcelona past the deadline.

Why United have suddenly turned their attention to Balde

United have ramped up their pursuit of the Spaniard after conceding defeat in their attempts to sign Lewis Hall.

Although a formal approach was never officially made, it was one of the worst-kept secrets this summer that INEOS had placed the Newcastle United star atop their left-back shortlist.

Even though it’s been claimed by United insider Andy Mitten that Hall is keen on joining the Red Devils, Newcastle have made it clear he is entirely off-limits.

In fact, manager Matthias Jaissle directly reacted to the rumours following his side’s draw with Liverpool yesterday evening, telling Peter Schmeichel that United have ‘no chance’ of getting their hands on the former Chelsea prospect.

Had Newcastle opened the door to a move, Hall would’ve likely commanded a fee in the region of £60 million, whereas Balde could reportedly cost £43m if he’s on the move in the coming fortnight.

United suffering a 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City on matchday one may prompt INEOS to get back on the market and bolster Michael Carrick’s options as soon as Carlos Baleba’s switch is wrapped up.