Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Alejandro Balde leaving Barcelona in January is a strong possibility, while a second journalist has claimed Manchester United and Liverpool are in a three-club ‘bidding war’ for the left-back.

Man Utd made an approach for Balde in the summer after learning that top left-back target Lewis Hall would not be available to sign. However, no deal materialised for Balde either, and United ultimately decided against signing new cover for Luke Shaw.

That decision has proven costly, as Shaw has already missed eight games this season.

The Red Devils are looking to rectify the situation in January. They would love to bring in Hall, but Newcastle United are in a very strong negotiating position after tying the 22-year-old down to a new contract.

Balde is once again emerging as a concrete Plan B option for Man Utd, as the Spain international has fallen down Hansi Flick’s pecking order and is searching for more game time.

On YouTube, Romano said: “The situation that is getting more complicated is the situation of Alejandro Balde.

“Balde, in the summer, was a potential exit. Barcelona wanted Balde to go in the summer in case of [a] good proposal, but Balde wanted to stay and fight for his place.

“There was no agreement with any club, also because Barca were not letting Balde go on loan or on [an] easy deal in the summer, [it] had to be an important proposal.

“Now it’s November, Balde is almost never playing, really limited minutes. So this could be a situation to watch in January in case of [a] good proposal, in case of [a] good opportunity.

“It’s not the best year for Balde, and this is why his future has to be discussed.

“But everything will depend on the player, because the player in the summer didn’t want to leave.”

According to Spanish reporter Juan Jesus, United are battling Liverpool and AC Milan for Balde.

Jesus wrote on X: ‘Liverpool and AC Milan are going all out for Alejandro Balde. They join Manchester United in the bidding war.

Man Utd rivalling Liverpool for Alejandro Balde

‘Both Andoni Iraola and Ruben Amorim are fans of the player and believe he would fit perfectly into their respective systems.

‘Already open to leaving this winter, Barca has already set his price: the Catalan club is asking for a minimum of 45 million euros [£37.5m] to let him go.’

Jesus claimed on Sunday that United themselves are ‘going all out’ for the 23-year-old’s capture after learning that his relationship with Flick is ‘completely broken’.

It has been suggested Balde could be involved in a swap deal with Lisandro Martinez, as Barca are showing interest in the wantaway United defender.

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford could ‘quit’ United on one condition, as per a report.