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S.L. Benfica are planning to sign Alvaro Fernandez on a permanent deal as a squad player when his loan from Manchester United expires at the end of the season.
The 21-year-old joined the Portuguese giant in January after having the first half of the year on loan with Granada in La Liga.
While the academy coaches at Old Trafford are believed to rate Fernandez’s skillset, his inexperience and defensive frailty led manager Erik ten Hag to sanction his departure on loan last summer, despite an injury crisis at left-back.
Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia were both ruled out as the summer window came to a close last year. Similarly, Brandon Williams had just left United to join Ipswich Town on loan, while Alex Telles had been sold to Al Nassr a month prior.
This combination of absences and departures left Fernandez as the only natural left-back in the senior squad. And while there were some coaches who felt the 21-year-old had the talent to fill this gap, Ten Hag felt differently.
As a result, the young Spaniard was sent to Granada on loan, while United agreed a last-minute loan for a more experienced Spanish left-back – Sergio Reguilon.
Fernandez had a positive start to life at Granada, but increasingly found himself on the bench as the winter period approached. As such, when United received word of Benfica’s interest in the 21-year-old, the club made the decisive decision to end Fernandez’s time in Spain, and relocated him to Portugal.
While the number of minutes the fullback has been afforded has not necessarily improved at Benfica, a report from Portuguese media today suggests the club are happy with Fernandez as a rotational option, and wish to sign him permanently from United in the summer.
A Bola contend Benfica have begun preparations for the the summer transfer window. While they have a number of priorities, including both fullback positions, the report reveals officials want to exercise the €6 million buy-clause in Fernandez’s loan deal to function as the back-up to this new left-back.
This corroborates a report relayed by the Peoples Person yesterday, indicating a permanent deal was on the horizon this summer.A Bola’s assessment of the 21-year-old is that while he “shows value, [Fernandez] still doesn’t seem ready to grab the spot immediately.”
From United’s perspective, €6 million (£5.15 million) for a player who the manager does not rate nor who has an obvious path to the first-team – the club will target a new left-back this summer to provide a better alternative to Shaw – is a good deal.
The fact that Fernandez is technically an academy graduate only strengthens his value in the market, as youth players are a treasure trove from a financial fair play perspective – an area United are trying to leverage as much flexibility this summer as possible.
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