Man Utd blow as target has ‘no intention’ of leaving Barcelona as £21m Serie A swoop planned

Manchester United’s attempts to secure a replacement for injured defender Luke Shaw have reportedly been dealt a blow in the last 24 hours.

The England defender is set for an extended period on the sidelines after he suffered a muscular injury and that has left Erik ten Hag with no senior left-backs in his squad. Diogo Dalot was selected on the left-hand side of the United defence in Saturday’s 3-2 home win against Nottingham Forest but the Red Devils are said to be exploring a number of options to provide cover and competition for Shaw when the former Southampton defender returns to fitness.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has revealed United have held initial talks with Premier League rivals Chelsea over a possible loan deal for Marc Cucurella and there is also said to be a tentative interest in free agent Ryan Bertrand and Tottenham Hotspur left-back Sergio Reguilon.

However, one name that can reportedly be struck off Ten Hag’s shortlist if Barcelona outcast Marcos Alonso. The former Chelsea man has not been registered by the La Liga champions this season and is expected to depart the club before the end of the transfer window later this week. But ESPN reporter Moises Llorens has taken to Twitter to reveal Alonso has ‘no intention’ of leaving the Catalan giants even if he receives an offer before the deadline on Friday.

He said: “Marcos Alonso has no intention of leaving @FCBarcelona_es despite the proposals that may arrive this week...”

United only willing to pay £21.4m for long-term target

The future of Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat has been the subject of intense speculation during the summer transfer window after several clubs across Europe showed an interest in the Morocco international.

The 27-year-old is said to be high on Erik ten Hag’s list of priorities as the summer transfer window enters its final days but the Red Devils manager faces competition from Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Barcelona and Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli. However, a recent report in Italy has suggested United are not willing to meet the Serie A club’s £30million valuation of the World Cup star after Corriere Fiorentina revealed they would not go higher than an offer of aroud £21.4million.