Manchester United summer sales begin as defender joins Benfica with INEOS looking to raise funds to reshape squad
- Left-back Alvaro Fernandez, 21, has made his £5m Benfica loan deal permanent
- He was considered a promising talent but did not play a first team match.
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Manchester United’s summer sell-off is underway with the sale of Spanish defender Alvaro Fernandez to Benfica after a successful loan spell in Portugal.
The 21-year-old left-back did not make a first-team appearance for United, but was instead loaned out to Preston North End, Granada and then Benfica.
United signed him to their academy from Real Madrid in 2020, with Fernandez seen as an exciting prospect.
He played 16 times for Benfica in the second half of the season, enough to trigger a mandatory buy clause in the terms of his loan, believed to be worth around €6m (£5.1m) .
Fernandez made Erik ten Hag’s bench for United’s Premier League match against Nottingham Forest in August before being loaned to LaLiga club Granada on deadline day.
Alvaro Fernandez has made his Benfica loan move permanent for around £5m as Manchester United begin summer squad clean-up
The Spanish left-back made 16 appearances for Benfica during the second half of the season.
United recalled him after 14 outings in Spain and negotiated a deal with Benfica, where Fernandez helped Roger Schmidt’s side finish second in the league, 10 points behind champions Sporting Lisbon.
Fans became excited about Fernandez when he won the Denzil Haroun Reserve Team Player of the Year award in 2021-22, making the first team bench on several occasions towards the end of that campaign .
At Preston he won the Championship club’s Young Player of the Year after a series of strong performances.
But with Luke Shaw as first-choice left-back and Tyrell Malacia also arriving after Ten Hag’s appointment in 2022, Fernandez faced tough competition at United.
Ironically, an injury crisis at the position this season could have seen him progress through the side had he not been loaned out.
Fernandez is likely to be the first of several United players to leave this summer, with co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS looking to raise funds for new signings.
Reports suggest United’s summer transfer budget is just £35million in cash, a figure expected to be inflated by player sales.
It remains to be seen whether Ten Hag is the man to spend the money, with his future still uncertain despite Saturday’s FA Cup final victory over Manchester City.
Fernandez was named on the United bench by Erik Ten Hag at the start of the season.
Recruited by the Real Madrid academy in 2020, Fernandez had hopes of thriving
The Dutch manager is under serious pressure after United could only finish eighth in the Premier League, their lowest position since 1990.
This meant they initially missed out on European football next season, but winning the FA Cup means they will be in the UEFA Europa League.
United’s owners have held talks with candidates including Thomas Tuchel, Mauricio Pochettino, Kieran McKenna and Thomas Frank to determine whether Ten Hag should stay.
