Fabio Coentrao Open To Manchester United Move

Real Madrid’s Portugal international, Fabio Coentrao is open to a Manchester United move in the summer. Recent reports have it that the Portuguese will welcome a move to the English giants. This is coming in a week when the left-back said it would be an ‘honour’ to play for the Old Trafford club. The talented defender is a key figure for Portugal and has represented the Nation in two different World Cups.

Fabio Coentrao, 27, has played an important role at Real Madrid since joining the Spanish giants from Benfica in 2011, helping the Spanish side claim major trophies over the years. He was also instrumental in the impressive run that saw them capture of a double of the Champions League and the Spanish cup, last year. However, the left-back who is also capable of playing a defensive midfield role, has struggled to get match time at The Bernabeu this season, as he seems to have fallen down the pecking order at the Spanish side.

Brazilian left-back, Marcelo Silva’s regular first team appearance this season means Coentrao’s has managed only three starts in the league, and has failed to break into coach Carlo Ancelotti’s starting XI. The Portuguese’s struggle for first team football has forced him to consider his future and would welcome a move away from the Spanish giants. Coentrao’s is currently on a long-term contract at Real Madrid which sees him bag a weekly wage in the region of £100,000 until the summer of 2019. However, it remains unclear if Real Madrid will be willing to allow the Portuguese to leave the club this summer.

Manchester United are desperate to end their defensive woes and are willing to bring in some new faces this summer. Coentrao’s addition would be a massive boost for the English side who have been at the end of some awful defending this season. The combative Portuguese is a good crosser of the ball, he is decent going forward and covers well in defence. The athletic defender will be excited by the prospect of joining the Red Devils and making the left-back position his, but he will face tough competition from talented English man, Luke Shaw, who joined the Old Trafford side from Southampton last summer, as a replacement for veteran French man, Patrice Evra. Luke Shaw has had an injury ridden season and Coentrao’s addition would give the Red Devils some depth.

Manchester United are in pole position for a top-four finish and boss Louis Van Gaal has been linked with quite a number of defenders ahead of next season. However, Real Madrid will be demanding a sum in the region of £26million for the talented Portuguese, who also happens to be close friends with fellow country-man and former United star, Cristiano Ronaldo. With other options on the cards, it remains quite unclear if Manchester United will be willing to spend that much on the talented left-back. It will be interesting to see how things unfold in the coming weeks.