Insider confirms Man Utd wowed by Spain int’l midfielder they could sign by accident | OneFootball

In the process of scouting Conor Gallagher, Manchester United have taken a shine to one of his teammates at Atletico Madrid and a transfer insider has predicted a difficult battle to keep the player out of United’s clutches.

After missing out on Antoine Semenyo, Man Utd are once again putting full focus on signing one and more probably two or even three new central midfielders in 2026.

United and Ruben Amorim do not wish to sign squad players or make short-term loans in January. The club are aligned in the view any arrivals from here on out must be impactful and for the long haul.

The problem United face is the three midfielders they adore the most – Carlos Baleba, Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton – are highly unlikely to be on the move in January.

That has prompted Man Utd to explore moves for more readily available targets, like Joao Neves, Ruben Neves and Conor Gallagher.

And according to transfer insider, Dean Jones, Man Utd may have inadvertently stumbled across a gem when scouting Gallagher.

Jones revealed the Red Devils have been taken aback by what they’ve seen from Gallagher’s Atletico Madrid teammate, Pablo Barrios.

The four-cap Spain international, 22, would be viewed as a long-term starter if brought to Manchester and not a depth piece like Gallagher.

“It’s hard to know quite how seriously to take him as a genuine target at this stage, but Pablo Barrios is a player that I have heard Man United really like,” explained Jones.

“I think the interest may have even come as a consequence of looking at Conor Gallagher. But, regardless of how they ended up watching him, he’s spoken about glowingly at a few clubs and United are one of them.

“Gallagher has obviously been spoken about as a midfield option but Barrios would actually be a very good fit for what United want long term – and Amorim doesn’t just want a loan in midfield or to sign someone for the sake of it. He wants players that fit the longer vision.

“Atleti won’t want to lose him because he has become very important in their midfield but I think there could be some potential for them to have a fight on their hands to keep Barrios across 2026.”

Barrios is under contract to Atletico Madrid until 2030 and his deal contains a hefty €120m release clause.

The value of that clause is viewed more as protection rather than a true representation of the sums it would take to sign the midfielder.

Nonetheless, what is clear is Atleti would command a similar type of fee to the ones United have been quoted for the likes of Wharton, Anderson and Baleba.