Stuttgart make decision on selling €35m-rated defender to Man Utd in January | OneFootball

Stuttgart have made a decision about selling Finn Jeltsch in January with Man Utd among the clubs interested in a deal, according to reports.

The Red Devils spent the majority of the summer transfer window looking to improve their midfield with Youri Tielemans, Carlos Baleba and Andrey Santos joining from Aston Villa, Brighton and Chelsea respectively.

Man Utd were also rumoured to be looking at bringing in a left-back and a left-winger too, while a new striker was on the cards if Joshua Zirkzee had left the club.

However, back-up goalkeeper Karl Darlow and Tottenham youngster Tynan Thompson were the only other additions as Man Utd plan to revamp their defence in 2027.

It left many Man Utd fans disappointed that they didn’t attempt to do more after Michael Carrick guided them to a third-placed finish last term and qualification for the Champions League.

But the Red Devils are already being linked with a move for defenders in January with TuttoJuve crediting them with interest in Stuttgart star Jeltsch.

The website’s focus is on interest from Juventus and Stuttgart have reportedly decided not to sell the Germany Under-21 international over the next year as his value continues to grow.

The report adds: ‘The main problem for all the contenders is the contractual situation. Jeltsch has a contract until 2030, and Stuttgart has no need to sell him. The market value indicated by the main specialised platforms had already reached around €35 ​​million in the spring of 2026, a sign of the defender’s rapid growth.’

Gary Neville insisted before the window shut that Man Utd were still short a left-back and a centre-back to deal with injuries this season.

Neville said on Sky Sports a couple of days before the transfer window shut: “In a perfect world, if you’d said to Michael Carrick, ‘what would you have done this summer?’ he would have said, ‘rebuild the midfield, and I would rebuild the defence’.

“But, to be fair, last season, they’ve spent, whatever it is, £170m on attackers. They’ve spent £150m this year on midfielders. They’re doing it piece by piece. That might be the sensible thing to do, to not overhaul everything at once.

“They have got some individually decent defenders, but there isn’t a back four there and when it starts to get put under pressure and it starts to pick up a couple of injuries during the season, it will let you down. Michael knows that right now.

“If they could get a centre-back and a full-back before the window closes, that will stop problems that we know we’re going to see.

“I’m not saying they’ve been bad all the time, but you just know full well, in Champions League football, Premier League games, they will have problems and they will have issues. It’s not being harsh. Everybody knows it.

“I’m amazed that United haven’t added at the back. I’m amazed that Liverpool haven’t added two full-backs because they need two full-backs.

“Arsenal are strengthening when they’re absolutely at the top. Manchester United and Liverpool aren’t in that position. So I’m surprised at the windows these two great clubs have had.”

Man Utd needed defenders for this season – Neville

Before Neville elaborated: “What the midfield need to do most is make sure that they’re always protecting that back four – and that’s going to be the key.

“[Carlos] Baleba is the most physical and the most defensive [midfielder]. They needed that fourth midfield player that had that profile and he’s really important, because you can see already that Manchester United’s back four can be got at.

“We knew that because it’s the same defenders as last season and the season before. They conceded 50 last season, so it’s not going to change unless they play better – which let’s hope they do – but also that the midfield two protects them more.

“That has to happen or else they’ll concede a lot of goals. They’ve conceded four in two [Premier League games] already, they’ve conceded a lot of chances against Ipswich in the first half and this is not going to be a team that’s going to be in the top half of the league, more than likely, so that would be the concern.

“It’s not me shouting, ‘buy a load of players, do this, spend your money’ but what Manchester United have done is they’ve rebuilt their attack last season. They’ve rebuilt the midfield this season. It feels like they’re going to wait to rebuild the defence for another 12 months.

“I don’t know if there are one or two defenders available, but if there are, can you somehow try and advance that money into this window and then spend less next season? Because it would really make a massive difference if they could get a centre-back and a full-back in.

“You saw at the end of the game [against Ipswich] when Dalot and Shaw go off, you’ve got [Leny] Yoro playing right-back, and you’ve got [Noussair] Mazraoui playing left-back. That’s not ideal at all.

“One of them [Yoro] is makeshift full-back at best, there’s no lack of willingness for him to play there, but he’s not a full-back. Mazraoui can play left-back, but he’s not the left-back that you want there.

“Lewis Hall was mentioned a couple of weeks ago, but I can’t see Newcastle ever going to let him go. I apologise for mentioning his name because just by doing that, there’s a suggestion that I might think that he could come to Manchester United, but he’s an outstanding left-back. Myles Lewis-Skelly was mentioned and again, someone who can play left-back, but maybe more in midfield.

“But that is going to be the question for Manchester United this season – how do they stem the flow of goals going into the back of their net?

“That can be done by being more compact, it can be done by changing the structure of the front part of the team, but you wouldn’t really want to do that because one of the things that’s going to keep Carrick in the job other than winning is entertaining the fans and he’s done that today.

“But when they go to Everton in the next game and when Manchester City come here in two weeks, they’re going to have to be better defensively, they’re going to have to be tighter and more compact.

“So that’s the big question – can Michael Carrick get a defender or two in the next 48 hours? If he can’t, then how does he structure the team?

“Carrick may have a thought process of how he can solidify the defensive part without bringing another defender in and that’s something that could be possible, but bringing in at least one defender in, maybe two, would change the whole dynamic of how you think about Manchester United’s season.”