Manchester United in the hunt to sign Spanish teenage fullback

18 January, 2023

Manchester United are keen on turn things around under new manager Erik Ten Hag, with the club making a pretty decent case for the Premier League title in the Dutchman’s first season, although they are nine points behind the league leaders Arsenal. They recently emerged triumphant in the Manchester Derby against all the odds and are just a point behind Pep Guardiola’s team as it stands. 

Now, the club are now looking to make addition in each position in order to strengthen themselves in the long run and are keeping tabs on Spanish youngster Ivan Fresneda, who currently plies his trade with Real Valladolid. Fresneda, who operates as a right-back and is capable of slotting into the central defensive positions as well, is one of the highly rated defenders in the U-19 crop of players. 

Fresneda, who was born in Madrid, spent four years with the Real Madrid youth academy before he made a move to Leganes, then subsequently, Valladolid. He made his senior debut for the club this season in a 2-1 loss for Valladolid against Girona FC. He made nine appearances in the league so far and has been very impressive in the position, more so for his age. 

The young talent shown all the top qualities that one expects from a modern-day fullback, the ability to defend one-on-one situations efficiently to making crucial contributions on the attacking end as well.

The right-back position has been a bit of a problem for the club, with Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka not stamping their authority on the position yet. Despite both players putting up good performances, the club are looking out for options in the market. Denzel Dumfries, the star right-back for Inter Milan, has been considered as well and is said to be one of Ten Hag’s favourites. 

Manchester United were busy in the summer market to support Ten Hag’s vision and signed Tyrel Malacia from PSV, Lisandro Martinez from Ajax among defenders. Although they were actively on the look out for a right-back, they could not find any option in a feasible fee. They also ended up signing Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Martin Dubravka (loan) and Antony in the summer, before adding Wout Weghorst and Jack Butland on a loan deal in January.