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Manchester United are closely monitoring Racing Santander left-back Jorge Salinas, who has a preference to join Barcelona, according to Sport (page 8). The Red Devils currently have Luke Shaw and Patrick Dorgu as senior left-back options, but the latter has primarily operated as a winger under manager Michael Carrick. United are open to pursuing a young competitor to Shaw. Newcastle United’s Lewis Hall is a prime target, but he appears ‘untouchable‘ after the Magpies’ summer selling spree. This could urge the club to look elsewhere. Sport now claim that United are keeping a close eye on Salinas and are ‘attentive’ to his current situation at Racing Santander. The 19-year-old has been widely tipped to leave his club after their La Liga promotion. Salinas has a release clause worth £13.7 million in his contract, and it is claimed that he is holding out for a move to Barcelona, given their track record of developing young players. The Spanish champions have no plans of triggering his buy-out clause and would prefer to negotiate different terms. This could open the door for other clubs to enter the race. United are being used to speed up Barcelona talks for Salinas Salinas had a productive 2025/26 campaign in La Liga 2. He won an impressive six duels per appearance alongside three tackles, three recoveries and three clearances. The 19-year-old was also solid going forward with seven assists from 33 outings. He has primarily played as a left-back, but has occasionally made appearances in central defence too. His versatility could be behind the ongoing interest in signing him. Sport have also mentioned Atletico Madrid as candidates to pursue a deal for the Spain Under-19 international. Still, we doubt whether United are exploring a move for the youngster. He is represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes, who may have offered his services to the Red Devils this summer. The ongoing link could be agent-driven to ensure that Barcelona speed up negotiations. United are more likely to prefer someone with Premier League experience to compete with Shaw at left-back. If Hall is unattainable, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson could emerge as a target. Stats from Sofascore