Manchester United left-back Alex Telles is set to depart the club to join Al Nassr as the Glazers start a summer clear-out of Erik ten Hag’s squad, according to Manchester Evening News.
Who have Manchester United signed in 2023?
The Red Devils have really kick-started their business in the summer transfer window this week with a move for Inter goalkeeper Andre Onana, following on from the big money signing of Chelsea’s Mason Mount.
Ten Hag was delighted with the arrival of Cameroon star Onana, saying: "I think with his physical presence and also with his personality, he is so keen on winning. He's so, so eager to win trophies and he will help the team and he will help the squad to get to higher levels."
The manager is far from done adding to his squad though, with rumours he could sign another more experienced goalkeeper in Sevilla and Morocco star Bono, while there is also expected to be some action in the centre-forward department, with Rasmus Hojlund seemingly the top target there.
The club are in pole position to sign Hojlund, but with a price tag rumoured to be around €90m (£78m) they will have to get busy in the outgoing department in the coming days and weeks, looking to clear space on the wage bill and recoup some funds.
How much is Alex Telles worth?
According to Samuel Luckhurst, writing for MEN, Telles could be the first senior squad member sold for a fee this summer, as the Brazilian looks all set to join Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, the same club Cristiano Ronaldo plays for.
However, the Glazers aren’t going to get much profit back on the deal, as the former FC Porto man will generate a fee of just £6m after three years at Old Trafford.
This is of course a far cry from some of the funds flying around to Premier League rivals in deals with the Middle East – Jordan Henderson and Fabinho look set to generate over £50m for Liverpool, Allan Saint-Maximin’s move from Newcastle is said to be worth around £26m, while Chelsea have sold several players for big money.
There is however some Saudi interest in Eric Bailly, while Anthony Elanga looks set to join Premier League side Nottingham Forest and Dean Henderson could soon follow suit too, so perhaps the manager could have a few more funds to work with before too long.
Telles was far from a success story at Old Trafford, never really budging Luke Shaw off the top spot in the left-back pecking order and playing just 30 times in the Premier League.
However, the 30 year-old did rack up 50 outings in total in the northwest, scoring once and racking up eight assists, so the end product that made him so exciting at Porto did rear its head at times.
The main beneficiary from Telles’ exit will presumably be Tyrell Malacia, who joined the club from Feyenoord last summer and had an up and down first campaign in England, showing flashes of his potential but recording zero goals or assists from 39 games.
