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Manchester United could do with a long-term successor to Luke Shaw this summer.
Following the departure of Tyrell Malasia, the Red Devils currently have the Englishman as the only senior left-back at the club.
Both Diogo Dalot and Nussair Mazraoui have played there, but both are much more adept at right-back.
Michael Carrick is expected to hand academy prodigy Diego Leon and Harry Amass minutes in pre-season to see if they can earn the right to be Shaw’s understudy this season.
United left-back options
INEOS also has options in the market, with Newcastle’s Lewis Hall and Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde among the names being considered.
There was another name on the list: Nathaniel Brown from Eintracht Frankfurt. His performances for Germany at the World Cup showed why.
The German left-back has one goal and an assist to his name in the two matches he started and was enamored with the idea of playing under Michael Carrick at Old Trafford.
However, Bayern Munich won the race for his signature, but not without the 20-time English league champions giving the Bavarians an uphill battle.
Nathaniel Brown’s experience at Bayern was uneventful
According to TEAMtalk, there was a brief period when negotiations between Bayern and Frankfurt stalled, with United attempting to intervene in the process.
However, in the end the plan did not work out, and Nathaniel Brown chose Bayern. Interestingly, Arsenal, along with United, were also considering a late takeover.
“Nathaniel Brown is heading to Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga champions finally completed a deal for the Eintracht Frankfurt defender, but TEAMtalk can reveal that Arsenal and Manchester United were exploring whether there was a possibility of intercepting the move after all.
“However, Brown’s move was not without uncertainty. The transfer stalled for more than a week as negotiations dragged on, prompting rival clubs to monitor the situation closely in case the deal fell through.”
United’s late takeover fails
“Our sources can reveal that both Arsenal and Manchester United have carried out inquiries during this period. Sources confirmed that the Premier League pair had ‘questioned’ whether there was any risk of the Bayern move being disrupted and made it clear to Brown’s representatives that they would remain keenly interested if the opportunity arose.”
“Neither club progressed beyond preliminary talks, but both were prepared to act if negotiations in Germany failed.”
It will be interesting to see whether United sign a left-back or whether they ask Patrick Dorga, who has excelled in a more attacking role, to deputize for Luke Shaw.
Artistic image by Alex Grimm via Getty Images
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