Barcelona Eye Summer Move for Manchester United Full Back Diogo Dalot
By Ali Rampling
Barcelona have been tipped to make a surprise summer swoop for out-of-favour Manchester United full back Diogo Dalot.
The 21-year-old Portuguese defender rarely featured for the Red Devils during the 2019/20 campaign, making just four appearances all season.
According to ESPN, Barcelona have 'shown an interest' in the forgotten youngster, as they attempt to rebuild after a hectic campaign.
The Catalan giants finished five points behind rivals Real Madrid at the summit of La Liga following a poor run of form in the title run-in, while their season was plagued by behind the scenes turmoil.
Barcelona sacked manager Ernesto Valverde in January, Eric Abidal made some snide comments about the team in February, Lionel Messi hit back on social media the following week, six directors resigned in April and they were forced to swap 23-year-old Arthur for 30-year-old Miralem Pjanic in June as a short term fix to their financial troubles.
The club may part ways with Nelson Semedo in the coming transfer window - with Manchester City heavily linked with the fullback - and are setting their sights on Dalot as a potential replacement.
United will be looking to consolidate funds as they plot moves for long-term targets Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho in the transfer window, although they have already taken out a £140m loan from their revolving credit facility to boost their summer spending plans.
Injuries hampered the first half of Dalot's season, with a hip problem followed by a groin injury keeping him almost completely out of action until January.
However, even when the Portuguese right back returned to full fitness, he was restricted to cameos. Dalot started just once in the Premier League all season, and was only included in United's match day squad twice following the top flight's return in June.
Having joined from Porto in the summer of 2018, Dalot failed to dislodge Antonio Valencia from the starting lineup during his debut season with the club, and found himself behind Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Tim Fosu-Mensah during the 2019/20 campaign.