Man Utd close to selling defender to Saudi club Al Nassr

Forum 9 months ago

Man Utd close to selling defender to Saudi club Al Nassr

Manchester United are closing in on the sale of left back Alex Telles, who is set to join Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr, 90min understands.

The Brazilian, who arrived from Porto in 2020, spent last season out on loan with Sevilla after being told by United manager Erik ten Hag that he did not feature in his long-term plans.

United have been looking for a buyer since Telles' loan expired in Spain at the end of last season, with Ten Hag firm in his decision that Telles was free to leave. Al Nassr have progressed with talks in recent hours and it's believed a deal is advanced, with the 30-year-old now set to join up with former United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.

Telles was interested in a return to Brazil, with Flamengo showing interest at one stage, but Al Nassr appear to have won the race having made a better offer. United were hoping to recoup in the region of €10m for a player not in their plans.

Al Nassr have so far this summer signed Marcelo Brozovic from Inter and are closing in on a deal for Seko Fofana, the Lens midfielder who had interest from a number of clubs in Europe. Telles is set to join them in the Saudi Pro League, and becomes the latest big name to move to the league as a whole.

Ruben Neves, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy, N'Golo Kante, Roberto Firmino, Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Karim Benzema have all flocked to the league following Ronaldo's arrival last year, with Al Nassr, Al Ittihad, Al Ahli and Al Hilal all taken over by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund last month. PIF also own Newcastle United.

For United, they are working on player sales of unwanted squad members before using whatever funds are raised to reinvest into the squad. Andre Onana is close to joining from Inter and his deal should be made official this week, while Atalanta's Rasmus Hojlund is on their wanted list.

To move for Hojlund and to strengthen in other areas, such as central midfield and central defence, transfer funds will need to be raised.

Dean Henderson, Eric Bailly, Harry Maguire, Brandon Williams, Fred, Donny van de Beek, Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga and Anthony Martial are all available for transfer at the right price before the transfer window closes.