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Manchester United reportedly had a scout in Portugal on Saturday night to watch the performance of left-back Alex Grimaldo as Benfica beat Vitoria Setubal.
Grimaldo as the latest player to be linked with a move to Old Trafford as United continue to hunt for a long-term solution to what has become a problem position in the team. Luke Shaw is seemingly set to leave Manchester in January, either on loan or in a permanent deal, and, although Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Ashley Young have all played at left-back this season, none of them are a natural fit for the role.
Spaniard Grimaldo came up through the Barcelona academy system before moving to Benfica, and is not only defensively solid, but also poses a threat going forward, particularly from set pieces.
One stumbling block to any deal, however, could be the release clause in his contract, which is said to be set at a hefty £53 million. That is a lot for United to pay for a still relatively untested 22-year old.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.