Two days after making his LaLiga debut, Jorge Salinas is being tied to Manchester United’s late-summer left-back search.
The 19-year-old Racing Santander defender started Sunday’s opening-day 2-2 draw with Villarreal at El Sardinero, playing the full 90 minutes in his first top-flight appearance after a breakthrough second-tier season that helped the northern Spanish club win promotion.
According to a Transfer DealSheet from The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell, Salinas is on the shortlist of head coach Michael Carrick as an alternative to Lewis Hall, whose potential move from Newcastle has effectively stalled after the club refused to sell. Whitwell had earlier flagged the same option on the Talk of the Devils podcast.
Salinas is a natural left-footer who can also fill in at left centre-back. He was part of the Spain side that won this year’s UEFA European Under-19 Championship, and he is represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes.
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Salinas has a €16m release clause
His appeal for United is largely about price. Per Spanish outlet AS, as reported by Football Place, the buy-out clause in Salinas’s Racing Santander contract doubled from €8m to €16m on 30 June this year, a figure the same reporting says is comfortably within reach of Manchester United, Newcastle and other elite suitors.
Barcelona, Atlético Madrid and FC Porto have also been linked with the teenager. Racing did not sell across the summer, and Salinas has now begun the LaLiga campaign as one of the promoted club’s first-team regulars.
Shaw is Carrick’s only recognised senior left-back
The urgency at United is real. Luke Shaw is the only established senior left-back available to Carrick, who was appointed permanent head coach in May. Patrick Dorgu has been redeployed as a winger, and academy player Harry Amass is reportedly on his way out.
Hall has been the primary target for months, but with Newcastle immovable, Whitwell’s report suggests United’s recruitment team is weighing whether to shelve that move to next summer and use the intervening year to see if Salinas can hold the role at Old Trafford.
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Nothing has been confirmed by either side, and no bid, fee or personal terms have been publicly reported. Whitwell’s own assessment: if United close the deal and the teenager delivers, his age and the modest clause could make it one of the summer’s better pieces of business.
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