Manchester United are reportedly considering re-signing defender Alvaro Fernandez who is currently at Portuguese side Benfica.
The Red Devils have a buy-back clause as they sold the 21-year-old to Benfica for a fee of £5 million over the summer following a period on loan at the club.
United are now considering paying the buy-back clause for Fernandez due to ongoing interest from La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona.
After a successful period on loan last season, Fernandez has now made 25 appearances for the club with one goal and one assist, he never made an appearance for Manchester United’s first team.
The defender began his career at Real Madrid’s youth team before he was picked up by Manchester United where he featured in the U23s for a period.
However, as he was unable to break into the Manchester United first team, he was sent on loan to Preston, Granada and Benfica until this summer when he made a permanent transfer to Portugal.
According to TeamTalk, United, alongside Barcelona and Real Madrid are monitoring his progress at Benfica and all consider making a move for Fernandez in January.
The exciting 21-year-old has shone under Roger Schmidt at Benfica this season and has become the club’s first-choice at left-back – a position that United have had injury problems with.
Seeing as Luke Shaw is frequently sidelined with injury issues, it would be a wise decision for the Red Devils to bring Fernandez back to Old Trafford to improve squad depth.
With Luke Shaw, Victor Lindelof and Tyrell Malacia all struggling with injury problems, Erik Ten Hag has struggled to find depth at the full-back position.
He has been starting Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot, but with no credible options on the bench behind them, something that Fernandez could provide.
If Fernandez is good enough to start for Benfica, he could be beneficial to Erik Ten Hag and United not only for squad depth, but due to his age, for the future.