Man Utd draw up four-man left-back shortlist led by top Arsenal talent | OneFootball

Manchester United have reportedly drawn up a four-man shortlist as they target the signing of a new left-back in the summer transfer window, with Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly leading the pack.

With the injury-prone Luke Shaw now in his 30s, the Red Devils have begun laying the groundwork for a significant overhaul at left-back and an emerging opportunity to prise Lewis-Skelly away from north London as piqued their interest.

TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Graeme Bailey has revealed that ‘Man Utd decision-makers are increasingly focused on strengthening depth at left-back’, recognising that Luke Shaw ‘requires genuine competition for his place’.

Bailey goes on to add that Tyrell Malacia is expected to move on this summer, while Patrick Dorgu, who was signed as a wing-back in Ruben Amorim’s system, is now regarded as more of an attacking option rather than someone who has better defensive capabilities in a back four.

For their part, Arsenal are bracing for a summer of change, with some notable departures on the horizon, one of which could be Lewis-Skelly.

The 19-year-old Hale End graduate has found his pathway into the first team becoming increasingly congested by the additions of Riccardo Calafiori and Piero Hincapie, with a lack of game time also impacting his international trajectory.

Once considered part of Thomas Tuchel’s thinking for England, Lewis-Skelly’s chances of making the upcoming World Cup squad have faded significantly. Indeed, he was completely overlooked in the recent 35-man squad named for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.

The TEAMtalk report goes on to add that Lewis-Skelly is now ‘open to a move in search of regular football‘, and ‘Arsenal are prepared to cash in’ for a deal that would ‘represent pure profit on a homegrown asset’.

United are unlikely to have a clear run at the player, however, with strong interest from across the Premier League, including two sides currently chasing European football in Everton and Brentford.

As for the Red Devils, though, their recruitment team have been ‘actively tracking Lewis-Skelly as part of a broader review of left-back targets’.

Alongside Lewis-Skelly, Bailey adds that United are also considering ‘established Premier League options such as Tyrick Mitchell of Crystal Palace and Antonee Robinson of Fulham’.

United’s search is not just limited to England, however. Indeed, the report adds that United scouts have been ‘closely monitoring David Raum of RB Leipzig’.

Raum has impressed with his consistency in the Bundesliga and on the international stage with Germany, emerging as a ‘serious candidate should United opt to explore the overseas market instead’.

Any addition is not expected to have an immediate bearing on Shaw’s future, though, with the England defender performing well under caretaker coach Michael Carrick and not expected to be sold in the summer.