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Manchester United’s “Brexit crop” of young foreign recruits is beginning to pay dividends in the form of Hannibal Mejbri, Alejandro Garnacho, and Alvaro Fernandez but one of those is already being monitored by the club he signed from.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Marc Jurado is being followed by FC Barcelona but the reports of them trying to lure him back right now are off the mark.
It comes on the heels of a recent report which said the Catalans are interested in Jurado and a move could materialise.
The Spanish right-back is the product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia and joined United in 2020 from Barcelona U16s.
He established himself in the U18s immediately and the 2022/23 season was his first full season with the U21s.
With three goals, four assists, and countless encouraging performances in Premier League 2, Jurado has caught the eye and Barcelona have been consequently monitoring him.
He should be in the United squad on their pre-season tour of the USA and would hope to impress enough to follow his compatriot Alvaro Fernandez’s footsteps.
Fernandez came through Real Madrid’s academy before joining United. After impressing at Preston in the Championship during the 2022/23 season, he is a first-team candidate at Old Trafford this season.
Jurado is currently not in the first-team frame with Aaron Wan-Bissaka engineering a remarkable career renaissance and Diogo Dalot signing a new contract last season.
A loan to a Championship team will be the ideal course of action for the youngster as he already showed last season that he has outgrown U21 football.
As for Barcelona’s interest, a potential homecoming will undoubtedly be an attractive prospect for any youngster who came through La Masia but Jurado is arguably better served staying at United.
Los Cules have Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde who can play that position, while wunderkind Alejandro Balde is also capable of filling in.
English football experience will be better for his all-around development at this stage in his career and if Romano’s report is anything to go by, United can rest easy knowing their teenage wunderkind right-back is going nowhere for now.
