Barcelona will unlikely sign Diogo Dalot from Manchester United this summer, with the Portuguese full-back uninterested in joining the Blaugrana.
According to a report by Spanish publication Mundo Deportivo, Diogo Dalot will not join Barcelona in the ongoing transfer window. The Manchester United defender does not want to join the Catalan giants, who do not have him high up their priority list either.
Diogo Dalot joined Manchester United from FC Porto nearly four years ago, with Jose Mourinho suggesting he was the best young full-back in Europe at the time. But the Portuguese international has not done much to justify the hype that the former Manchester United manager built around him.
The 23-year-old was a promising teenage prospect in 2018 but has since made gradual progress. And while Dalot is now the first-choice right-back for Manchester United, he has not been solid enough in his two outings thus far in the 2022/23 season. But that has not stopped Barcelona from weighing up a summer move for Dalot.
The interest from Barcelona comes in the wake of their inability to sign Cesar Azpilicueta. The Chelsea captain had seemed destined to join the Blaugrana in a cut-price deal before signing a new contract with the west London club. The Spaniard’s decision to snub Barcelona has compelled them to consider alternatives in the last two weeks of the summer transfer window.
With Dani Alves departing from Barcelona as a free agent and Sergino Dest facing an uncertain future at Camp Nou, the Catalan giants need to invest in a right-back this month. The lack of depth in the position was evident in Barcelona’s goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano last weekend, as with Sergino Dest omitted from the matchday squad, Ronald Araujo played as a right-back.
Several right-backs have thus popped up on Barcelona’s radar, with Dalot also emerging as a target. But the Manchester United defender will unlikely join the Blaugrana this summer, as he does not want to depart from Old Trafford. In addition, he does not feature prominently in Barcelona’s wishlist either.
Manchester United recently attempted to use Dalot as a makeweight to sign Sergino Dest from FC Barcelona. But the Portuguese international seems likely to remain at Old Trafford and continue as Manchester United’s first-choice right-back unless the Red Devils sign another solid option for the position in the coming days.
