Former Manchester United Youngster Linked With Return To Old Trafford

3 minutes

After leaving Manchester United just months ago, could Alvaro Carreras move back to the Red Devils after a brilliant start to the season for Benfica?

Since the start of his career, the Spaniard has been a highly regarded talent, having played for both Manchester United and Real Madrid’s academies and gained interest from the likes of Manchester City and Barcelona. Despite never playing first-team football for Manchester United, he was named the club’s under-23 Player of the Season in 2022 after a great campaign.

After winning the accolade, the defender would go out on loan to Championship side Preston North End to gain experience. After a successful loan in the second division, he would go on loan to Granada and Benfica throughout the 2023/24 season.

His move away from Manchester would then come in the summer for a deal worth just 6 million euros. Since joining the Portuguese side permanently, he has been in spectacular form which was epitomised by an outstanding performance in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid.

This is further supported by his stats this campaign as he is in the top 10% in Europe for progressive passes, progressive carries and shot-creating actions. It’s not only his attacking output that is strong as his height and physicality are also stand-out features of his game as shown by him winning 1.85 Aerial duels per90.

As a result of this great start, the 21-year-old has become the subject of major interest from many of Europe’s biggest clubs. Liverpool are said to be targeting the youngster as a long-term replacement to Andy Robertson, whilst Barcelona and Real Madrid are also eyeing a move. However despite the competition, Manchester United inserted a buy-back clause of 20 million euros, whereas other competition would have to pay the 50 million euro release clause that has been established by Benfica.

How Carreras would suit the current Manchester United side

Erik Ten Hag’s side currently sit 14th in the Premier League after a poor start. A re-occurring issue over the past two seasons has been the left-back due to Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia’s injury issues. This has left the Dutchman with potentially playing Jonny Evans in full-back due to Noussair Mazraoui’s recent injury.

Therefore, a new left-back is seen as a priority given the major injury issues and that academy prospect Harry Amass isn’t seen as ready to appear for the first team. So far this season, we have seen Diogo Dalot often drifting in from left-back into midfield, which is a key strength of the Spaniard. This is suggested by his former boss Ryan Lowe, who stated

“When we moved him inside, he was getting the ball on the left, coming inside and causing them real problems”.

This shows that he could be a great option for Ten Hag’s side as he caters to the role established by Diogo Dalot this season. Furthermore, goals have been an issue for United so far as they have managed just five goals in the league, so Carreras could also help in creating chances as shown through his time at Benfica.

An alternative analysis is the Spaniard may struggle to solidify his position for United, given the quality from Luke Shaw in the past. In addition, young options like Malacia and Amass may make it harder for him to be the club’s definitive long term successor to Shaw. A further limitation of his game is his defending, which often leaves the team exposed on the transition, which wouldn’t help Ten Hag’s side given their struggles to contain attackers with their open midfield.

Overall, this could be a great move for Manchester United to bring back, a player that they understand and has a good relationship with players like Alejandro Garnacho. Therefore, despite his limitations, this would significantly help the Northern-based side in their quest to fight for league titles in the coming future.

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