Manchester United left-back Alex Telles has signed for La Liga club Sevilla on a season-long loan.
The player arrived at Old Trafford back in 2020 and found himself firmly behind Luke Shaw in the pecking order during his first season at the club.
Telles made just 21 Premier League appearances last term and makes a move to the five-time Europa League winners for the 2022/23 season. Telles’ place in the squad had become uncertain after the arrival of Tyrell Malacia, the former Feyenoord left-back who is a favourite of manager Erik ten Hag. Telles will be hoping for more regular playing time in La Liga.
United Career
After earning a move to Europe in 2013-14 by joining Turkish side Galatasaray S. K., Alex Telles was bought by Porto for close to €6m in 2016.
The Brazilian left-back was an integral part of Porto that won the domestic league title in the 2019-20 season. He scored 11 goals and assisted 8 in the league during his the last season with Porto, making him one of their top contributors that season. This spiked the interest of the United board who needed competition for then injury-prone Luke Shaw.
The 29-year-old was relegated to the role of a backup due to Luke Shaw’s tremendous form under then United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Telles was given more prominence by interim manager Ralf Rangnick, but he failed to make an impression. In 21 league games, the Brazilian accumulated just 4 assists.
His all-round game was lacking, and Telles was often at fault defensively. He also failed to assert himself on the overlap in an attacking role. An important thing to be noted though is that a lot of his contributions at Porto had come from set-pieces, which was not the case at United, as Bruno Fernandes is trusted with both free-kicks and penalty duties.
Official, confirmed. Alex Telles has joined Sevilla on loan until June 2023 from Manchester United. Deal now sealed after medical completed on Wednesday. 🔴🤝 #Sevilla
Sevilla will pay €2m as part of salary. Next target: Thilo Kehrer. pic.twitter.com/KYwQ0XEa27
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 4, 2022
Why Telles Failed?
Alex Telles was very important to Porto and the Brazilian NT at the time he signed for United. His struggles at United could be attributed to a combination of reasons.
Telles did not have the best luck with injuries at United. The Brazilian missed almost 3 months of action across two seasons due to injuries and illnesses. An ankle injury also kept Telles out for the beginning of the 2021-22 season (stats via Transfermarkt).
Telles was given more minutes by Ralf Rangnick. However, it is important to understand some nuances of Rangnick’s “gegenpressing” system. Rangnick largely used a 4-2-2-2 or 4-2-3-1 system. He often instructed his wingers to maintain somewhat narrow positions on the pitch to facilitate high pressing.
Furthermore, United’s wide men – Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga and even Bruno Fernandes/Paul Pogba were all more comfortable operating in the half spaces. This meant that the full-backs were solely responsible for maintaining width. Telles was finding it difficult to cover both ends effectively and in the end, his output took a hit both offensively and defensively.
👋 𝗕𝗲𝗺-𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼, @AT13Oficial! 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/K5pGzeFok4
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) August 4, 2022
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After his loan move to Sevilla, Telles wrote on his social media:
“To everyone at United: colleagues, staff, fans. I will be supporting and cheering you on all season. Thanks for the moments so far.”
Telles will become Sevilla’s second signing of the summer after centre-back Marcao joined from Galatasaray following the departures of Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde. United have confirmed that Sevilla are covering Telles’s wages in full and there is no obligation to buy. Telles is contracted to United until 2024 and the club has the option to extend it by an additional year.
Will Alex Telles succeed in Sevilla? Tell us in the comments.
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