It’s no secret that MUFC are in the hunt for a new left-back or under Amorim, new left wing-back.
Names such as Alphonso Davies, Theo Hernandez and Milos Kerkez have all been mentioned when it comes to filling up a position that United have not had properly filled in over a year thanks to the injuries of Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia.
Mendes becomes the next player identified in the list.
Fabrics Hawkins reports that “#mufc have made an offer to sign PSG's Nuno Mendes. While PSG aren't keen on a sale this January and want to extend his contract, the player himself wants to leave”, via The United Stand.
United will want to sign him in January as it’s clear that that position is a major priority for the side who are struggling down the left flank. Having to use Diogo Dalot, a right-footed full-back, in that place hasn’t worked and it’s really been costing United for a while.
Malacia has returned and filled in on a couple of occasions but after such a long layoff (18 months), he hasn’t been at the standard required. The Dutchman has also not been able to complete a 90 minutes since his return and was even left out of the squad entirely in the defeat to Wolves. That is not a good sign for the defender after having seen Amorim do this to several others who’ve then hardly featured for the Portuguese.
Mendes is a defender by trade but is more than capable of being an attacking threat. He also boasts a lot of pace and despite his tender age of 22, has been around the block for a while and is a regular for the Portugal national team.
He was also a player who played for Ruben Amorim at Sporting Lisbon, another reason to bring him in.
A problem with the defender though, is that he is a bit injury prone which as we know, is a big problem for us funnily enough in that left-back position.
Not the best, is it?
In his short career, Mendes has had nine different injuries his last of which was a big one as he missed 287 days with a hamstring injury in 22/23.
The good news is that he hasn’t picked up anything since.
Final Thoughts
What do I think of him and this deal?
I admittedly, haven’t watched much of Mendes but from what I’ve seen of him, he is a good player but not one where I would be overly wowed by him joining United, if he did.
On the other hand, he brings a lot of positives as his attributes are pretty much what we need, he can go up and down the pitch quite easily and has played for Amorim before which means he understands the system and would embed into the side straightaway.
And he’s left-footed which obviously helps as well meaning that we won’t have to keep playing a right-footer on that side.
Would you like to see Mendes at United?
Background Image: Nuno Mendes | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal