Manchester United eyeing Manchester City’s Yan Couto after excellent loan spell in Spain | OneFootball

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has constantly chopped and changed his back four due to injuries and that has not allowed the team to settle throughout the campaign.

One area in particular which has confused the Dutchman is right-back with both Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka taking turns playing in that position.

The former Crystal Palace star, who had won back his starting berth in the last campaign, has failed to hit those same high notes this term and United are open to a sale even though they triggered the one-year extension option in his contract.

There is interest from his former club as well as from teams in Italy and Saudi Arabia and with INEOS needing to raise capital through player sales, a departure is on the cards.

AWB’s uncertain future

If the Englishman does end up leaving, the club plan to reinforce that position and as per Tutto Juve, a new player is being eyed by the 20-time English league champions.

Yan Couto, who has enjoyed a brilliant spell at high-flying Girona, could land up at Old Trafford and it could be hugely significant because the player’s parent club is Manchester City.

A direct transfer between the rivals is usually not on the cards due to the heated rivalry. When Carlos Tevez decided to jump ship, it led to increased tensions between the two teams even though technically Teves was on loan at United.

Owen Hargreaves also did move to the blue side of Manchester but that was after his contract with the Red Devils ended.

In recent times, academy transfers have taken place as seen from United’s acquisition of Charlie McNeill and Darren Fletcher’s sons but not a first-team star directly. Jadon Sancho never played for City but moved to United via Borussia Dortmund.

City-United rivalry

The Brazilian full-back has never played for Pep Guardiola’s team since his €6 million move from Coritiba back in 2020. He has since spent time out on loan at Girona and SC Braga.

Girona are currently second in La Liga and have qualified for the Champions League next season but Guardiola does not have any plans of integrating the Brazil international into the City fold due to the options at his disposal already.

City are planning a €40 million sale as per the report, and United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus are just some of the teams looking at signing the 21-year-old.

Even though the Spanish manager might not have any use for the versatile full-back, the club are likely to refrain from strengthening United directly.

“Manchester City look set to be without Yan Couto next season. With Kyle Walker being an important player in the right-back role and the presence of players like Rico Lewis and John Stones who can fill that role, Guardiola has enough options in that position.

“Given the situation, Manchester City intends to make a good profit from the sale of Yan Couto, who had an exceptional season at Girona.

United eyeing City star

“The English club estimates that it can obtain around 40 million euros for the Brazilian player, in whom there is interest from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, these are the competitors for Juventus.”

Couto has two goals and 10 assists this season, which places him in the top two percentile among defenders across Europe as per Fbref. He is the third-highest assist-giver in Spain’s top-flight this campaign. His “superb” displays have seen him break into the Brazilian national team as well.

The right-back loves to gallop forward and is in the top one percent for progressive carries and in the top four percent for successful take-ons.

His profile suits Ten Hag’s attacking intent but whether the club can afford such a high price for a full-back while plenty of other positions need additions and whether City will allow them to buy one of their players remains a doubt.

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