Manchester United keeping tabs on move for Barcelona left-back

Manchester United have gotten off to a shaky start to the season, after a summer transfer window that saw them add some key talents to their squad. Whether it was the bargain signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million, Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £50 million, or Carlos Baleba for £65 million, the Red Devils clearly added to their squad.

But the one area of the pitch that they didn't work on in the summer was their left-back department, with Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu being their only two options to fill that part of the park at the moment. This isn't to say that they didn't try, as they reached out to their crosstown rivals, Manchester City, for Rayan Ait-Nouri, but the move never progressed beyond that.

It does appear that the Red Devils could be looking ahead to the winter transfer window, as they've been keeping an eye on Barcelona's Alejandro Balde, according to a recent report.

United are keeping watch on the Spaniard

As reported by Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur, Manchester United are monitoring Balde's situation at the Camp Nou, with the 22-year-old failing to see the pitch in the opening six matches. Hansi Flick has been opting to use the likes of Xavi Espart and Joao Cancelo to occupy the left side of the defensive line, and with the results the club has been getting, he can't complain.

This lack of game time is a clear step down from the 42 appearances that Balde made last season, taking to the pitch for 2795 minutes for the Catalan club.

Balde currently has two years left on his current deal with Barcelona, so it's not known what the team values him at on the market, but Transfermarkt has the Spaniard listed at €50 million; it's important to note that it is just an estimate.

Even if United are interested in Balde, they aren't the only Premier League side looking at him, as Liverpool look to patch up a similar hole to what the Red Devils are suffering from at the moment.

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