According to confirmed reports, Manchester United left-back Alvaro Fernandez has joined Primeira Liga club Benfica on a permanent deal. The Red Devils are set to undergo a major revamp this summer and the Spanish defender becomes the first sale of this transfer window.
Alvaro Fernandez started his youth career with Spanish side Racing de Ferrol in 2007. In 2012, he moved to Deportivo de La Coruna, before joining Real Madrid in 2017. He joined the Manchester United academy in 2020 and played for the club’s various youth teams till 2022 before being called up to the senior team.
From 2022 to 2024, despite being part of the senior team, the Spaniard didn’t play a single match for the Red Devils. He spent three loan spells during that period. He joined Preston North End in 2022 on a season-long loan, a highly successful loan stint having made 42 appearances (stats via Transfermarkt) for the Lancashire side.
At the start of the 2023-24 campaign, the 21-year-old was loaned to La Liga club Granada for the whole season, where he made 14 appearances. However, in January 2024, he was called back and sent to Benfica on loan until the end of the season.
Now, as reported by the Manchester United website, Alvaro Fernandez has signed a permanent deal with Benfica and will join the side at the end of the season. He has signed a 5-year contract with the Portuguese side till the summer of 2029 with a buyout clause of €50m.
The Spanish defender initially joined the Primeira Liga club on a six-month loan spell in the January transfer window. However, the Portuguese giants decided to trigger the optional buy-clause in his contract, which is reported to be around £5m, and sign him on a permanent basis.
🔴🦅 Benfica trigger buy option clause for Álvaro Fernández, deal completed today.
Álvaro signs with Benfica for the next five years.
Manchester United will receive fee in the region of €6m.
❗️ #MUFC will have buy back clause, matching rights and also sell-on clause. pic.twitter.com/YPQKnnBZ99
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) May 23, 2024
The left-back got to showcase his talent and potential and became a first-team regular for the Lisbon-based club. The youngster made 16 appearances across all competitions during his loan stint. He impressed the officials at the club with his performances and made them exercise the purchase clause.
With this deal, the full-back has become the first player to be sold by Manchester United in this summer transfer window. The Red Devils are set to undergo a major overhaul of the squad this summer and ready to entertain offers for a significant number of players.
In his first interview after completing his permanent switch to Benfica, Alvaro Fernandez said (via Tribal Football):
“I am very happy about their trust in me.
“Since I arrived, I wanted to continue wearing this shirt and I want to next year be fighting for all the titles possible, with the support of the fans. Let’s go Benfica!”
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No doubt, Alvaro Fernandez is a young defender with a lot of potential and will be a great asset for Benfica. He possesses great speed and skills and will have plenty of opportunity to hone his talent. There is better chance of first-team football at the Portuguese club and attract attention of other big European clubs.
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