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Porto are considering bringing back Alex Telles as part of a deal to sell Diogo Costa to Manchester United, according to a report from Portugal.
Costa is one of the names on United’s list as Erik ten Hag plots the signing of a modern goalkeeper to either compete with David de Gea or dethrone him entirely.
A number of names have been mentioned in this regard, including Costa, Andre Onana, David Raya and Jordan Pickford.
The Peoples Person recently covered a report which indicated that Porto are growing fearful of the fact that United have cooled down their interest in Costa to focus on luring Inter Milan’s Onana to Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have made it clear they have no intention of paying Costa’s €75m release clause.
Porto are in poor financial shape and urgently need to make €50m by the end of this month.
Costa is their most saleable asset, hence their need for United to come to the negotiation table for the 23-year-old.
Correio de Manha reports that Porto are keen on re-signing Telles and the defender could be used as a makeweight in any deal to sell Costa to United.
United signed Telles from Porto in 2020 for a fee of £15.4m. A stand-out star for the Portuguese side, the Brazilian never really found his feet in England and spent last season out on loan with Sevilla.
Despite playing a considerable amount of games and helping the Spanish side win the Europa League, it was relayed that Sevilla will not seek to buy him permanently. Telles will return to United before being transfer-listed by the club.
CM states that Porto are aware Telles is not in Ten Hag’s plans for the next campaign. Porto boss Sérgio Conceição is an admirer of Telles and would welcome him back with open arms.
“Porto can use a possible sale of Diogo Costa to Manchester United to complete the return of the Brazilian to Dragão,” CM says.
“The possibility exists, not least because Telles would like to return to the club that projected him in European terms. Conceição knows the player well.”
Such an arrangement, if pursued, would be beneficial for all parties involved – United would solve their goalkeeping issues while Porto get the money they need plus a player coveted by their manager. On his part, Telles also gets a move he wants.
