Man Utd withdraw bid after serious injury

Carlo Garganese

• 19 Dec 2023 08:37 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United have withdrawn their interest in Real Madrid star David Alaba following his serious injury at the weekend.

Man Utd are in the market for at least one top-class centre back in 2024 and Fichajes reported on Saturday that they had made a move for Alaba.

However, negotiations for Alaba are over before they even truly began following a serious injury for the Austrian.

The 31-year-old tore his ACL playing for Real Madrid on Sunday evening against Villarreal. The defender hyperextended his leg and went off in pain, replaced by Nacho after just 35 minutes.

Alaba is almost certain now to miss the rest of the season and most likely Euro 2024.

He is the third player to tear his ACL at Real Madrid this season after Thibaut Courtois and Eder Militao.

Real Madrid will almost certainly sign a new defender in the January transfer window.

As for Man Utd, they will have to look elsewhere.

Man Utd to get rid of centre backs

Fichajes reports that United will offload a number of centre backs in 2024, most likely at the end of the season.

The contracts of Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof expire and both will leave on a free transfer.

Raphael Varane will also leave for a small fee in January or for free at the end of the campaign after losing his place in the first team.

Meanwhile, Harry Maguire’s place is also still in question having been transfer listed this past summer before winning back his starting slot.

Only Lisandro Martinez is guaranteed to stay in the 2024-25 season from the centre backs.

United’s defence has been disastrous this season, already conceding 39 goals in 25 games in all competitions.

This includes 15 goals in the Champions League group stage as United exited the competition having conceded the most in the groups in the history of an English team.