How Sergio Reguilon Offer Would Upgrade Man Utd Full-Back Options
Manchester United have the potential to significantly strengthen their full-back positions this summer with two smart pieces of business that would improve the squad massively both in this upcoming season and for the long-term as well.
That would be Sergio Reguilon in and Diogo Dalot out.
Full-back has been a weakness for United for much of the seven years since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. A passable job by re-purposed wingers Antonio Valencia and Ashley Young only delayed overdue re-investment, which thankfully began in earnest with Aaron Wan-Bissaka last summer.
Wan-Bissaka has been a big hit since his £45m from Crystal Palace. The emergence of home-grown talent Brandon Williams has also served to get the best out of Luke Shaw, although the 25-year-old still struggled with injuries and missed a run of games at the start and end of the campaign.
With Diogo Dalot completely out of favour and appearing to have no future at Old Trafford – he was even overlooked for Timothy Fosu-Mensah’s first game for the club in three years – it leaves United with minimal full-back depth. Williams is now the first alternative on both sides, meaning even just a single full-back injury could leave Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s options dangerously thin.
Gary Neville aired concerns earlier this week about several positions. Left-back was one of them and he told Sky Sports, “You have to look at left-back because of Luke Shaw's injuries and the fact he has obviously been in and out of the team in the last two or three years.”
Williams, although capable of playing on either side, is right-footed and therefore better suited to the right. That makes left-back the one to search for in the transfer market.
United had already been linked with Real Madrid’s Reguilon last month. At that time, Marca reported that the Spanish champions are seeking between €20m and €25m for the player, given there is no place for him their current squad as Marcelo and Ferland Mendy are preferred.
Reguilon spent the 2019/20 season on loan with Sevilla, directly coming up against United in the Europa League semi-final. He was a key part of the club’s record sixth success in the competition, putting him in the shop window, so to speak.
Sevilla are keen on taking him back on loan, but United might now be a potential permanent buyer. The latest from AS underlines the likelihood of no immediate future under Zinedine Zidane at the Bernabeu and claims that an offer from Manchester has been made.
23-year-old Reguilon was already open to returning to Sevilla on loan for a second time. But the chance to join United has now been described as ‘tempting’, not least because of Shaw’s record of injuries and the fact that Champions League football is coming back to Old Trafford.
Real officials are said to be keen to keep him, even if that view isn’t shared by Zidane. Ultimately, Los Blancos have been tipped to explore some kind of buy-back situation, although it seems unlikely United would agree to a deal where power to re-call the player remains in Madrid.
AS ups the previous price range to between €25m and €30m, which put the total potential range between £17.8m and £26.7m. With the club having just sealed a £40m bargain for midfielder Donny van de Beek, it seems like another excellent opportunity.
The general upside is that Dalot still has a decent reputation and enough long-term potential to make him an attractive opportunity for another club. That suggests United could sell the Portuguese for almost as much as they could buy Reguilon, making it a win-win.
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