Man Utd and Barca target Meunier to leave Dortmund after Terzic row?
FT Desk
- 21 Aug 2022 12:43 BST
- 3 min read
Thomas Meunier could be imminently available for transfer after falling out with his Borussia Dortmund coach Erdin Terzic. Manchester United and Barcelona are on high alert.
Meunier began the season well enough with Dortmund, impressing in the opening day 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen and starting their 3-1 win at Freiburg the Friday before last, but the wheels are beginning to come off for player and club.
Meunier was hooked at half-time against Freiburg before his replacement Marius Wolf came on and scored, and Wolf was given 90 minutes at right-back against Werder Bremen on Saturday - a game in which Dortmund threw away a two-goal lead in injury time to lose 3-2.
Borussia Dortmund were winning 2-0 with two minutes left. So of course they lost 3-2 to newly-promoted Werder Bremen 😳 pic.twitter.com/RjQmyKlUEu
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) August 20, 2022
Meunier was forced to watch on from the bench, and he was less than pleased when journalists got a mic near him in the bowels of the Signal Iduna Park after full-time.
"I want to leave here!" he hissed when asked by Bild journalists.
United and Barca lead the chase
It is an encouraging development for Man Utd and Barcelona, with both clubs tracking the Belgium right-back.
Erik ten Hag has so far preferred Diogo Dalot to Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back this season, but United have lost 2-1 to Brighton and 4-0 to Brentford, and the need for an upgrade in the position is pronounced.
That United have offered Barcelona Dalot as a makeweight in a potential deal for Sergino Dest perhaps hints at how both clubs rate their current incumbents in the position.
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Barca opened their La Liga season with a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano, with Ronald Araujo, a centre-back by trade, getting the nod at right-back.
Meunier could be an upgrade for either squad. Now 30, he remains part of a golden generation for Belgian football alongside the liked of Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
He has endured an inconsistent spell at Dortmund since joining from PSG in 2020, but he had 12 single-season goal-involvements as recently as 2018/19.
