Are Manchester United shifting their focus from right-wing to left-back?

Manchester United’s pursuit of Jadon Sancho is going on for a while now. However, dealing with Borussia Dortmund – which involves an intermediary Marco Lichsteiner – has been irksome for United. Multiple sources have reported that United are not happy with the slow pace of negotiations.

Just before a week, Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc poured cold water on United’s hope of signing Sancho by telling reporters that the club is planning to keep the 20-year-old winger. Now it seems like the matter is further complicated as Dortmund manager Lucien Favre expressed his desire to keep the England international. 

“It is important that he stays with us,” said Favre to the German outlet Der Westen.

“That is of course also important for the team.”

Several reports emerged on Monday claiming that Sancho would leave if United are willing to make a ‘realistic offer’. But with every update since the start of the month United’s hope of landing their top target are getting dented. 

It won’t be a huge surprise if the Old Trafford outfit switches their focus from the right-wing position to another position. MEN understands that United have a new transfer priority and it is for the left-back position. 

Currently, United only have two natural left-backs in their squad – Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams. The latter got promoted from the club’s academy to the first team and has enjoyed his breakthrough season. However, Williams is only 19 and his recent struggles indicate that he is not yet ready for a regular starting spot. Shaw is also injury prone, thus, making him unreliable. With Diogo Dalot out of favour and facing an uncertain future, United are hunting for a left-back.

According to Calciomercato, United are interested in Alex Sandro. The 29-year-old Brazilian is still the first choice at Juventus and has three years left on his contract but the Italian outlet claims that United don’t consider him unsaleable. The Red Devils will have to shell out around €40m.

Having said that, United are not the only one interested in Sandro. Several sources have reported that Chelsea are also considering him.