According to Spanish outlet Nacional, Manchester United have shown an interest in signing Real Madrid defender David Alaba.
Harry Maguire has been stripped of captaincy so it’s almost certain that he will be sold off in the coming weeks. West Ham United, Newcastle and Spurs are all interested in the England international and if United receive the current valuation then Maguire will be allowed to leave.
Ten Hag wants to bring in a replacement for the central defender this summer itself and it looks like the Dutch manager wants to go after Madrid’s Alaba.
The 31-year-old joined the Los Blancos in 2021 from Bayern Munich and last season, he won the Super Copa, Copa Del Rey, UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup. He currently earns £376,000 a week at Madrid and Ten Hag believes the defender can be tempted to Old Trafford by offering him a higher salary package.
The Austrian international is very happy with his life in Spain but the rumours are suggesting that the defender wants to listen to United’s proposal and see what they have to offer.
Will David Alaba be a sensible signing for Manchester United?
Varane and Lisandro Martinez are the first-choice centre-back pairing for Man United but these two will need competition and someone like David Alaba can be the perfect replacement for Harry Maguire. Also, Raphael Varane is massively injury prone so ETH will need a backup in hand.
Maguire’s future at United is very much over and even at 31 years old, Alaba will be a major upgrade to the English defender. David Alaba has played 85 games for Real Madrid plus he’s played close to 450 games for Bayern Munich.
The Austrian international is a vastly experienced defender and he can very easily become one of the leaders at Manchester United next season.
Another reason why David Alaba can be a major success at United is because apart from playing as a central defender, the 31-year-old can also double up as a left-back. Over the years, the Madrid man has played more than 260 games as a left full-back meaning he can act as a backup to Luke Shaw as well.
Alaba won’t necessarily be the first-choice defender under Ten Hag but he will be much better than Harry Maguire and his European experience will come in really handy when United play in the Champions League next season.
Will Real Madrid agree to sell the 31-year-old?
Last season, David Alaba started in only 21 La Liga matches so if the right offer comes in then there’s every chance Carlo Ancelotti will allow him to leave.
His current market value is €40 million and his contract expires in 2026 which means Real Madrid will demand anywhere between €45-55 million for the defender. This might seem like a small amount for such an experienced player but the Los Blancos signed him as a free agent from Bayern Munich so they will make a massive profit from his sale.
Also, Madrid need to pay €200 million if they want to sign Kylian Mbappe which means they have to gather funds for this massive transfer.
No one is indispensable at Real Madrid and Florentino Perez has proved this point by previously selling players like Varane and Casemiro to Manchester United so there’s every possibility that Ancelotti will have to let him go.
