Manchester United renew interest in £50m Bayer Leverkusen defender

Manchester United’s left-back problem has rarely felt as urgent as it does right now.

Luke Shaw has suffered an injury already this season, Patrick Dorgu has struggled badly when deployed out of position there, including a mistimed header that contributed to Erling Haaland’s derby winner, and teenager Harry Amass is still waiting for a senior breakthrough.

United’s summer pursuit of Alejandro Balde, David Raum and Ferdi Kadioglu all came to nothing, leaving Michael Carrick short of a genuine specialist in that position heading into the rest of the season.

It’s not the first time United have chased defensive reinforcement from this part of Europe either, with one familiar name resurfacing on their radar.

Miguel Gutierrez has apparently already attracted interest from several of Europe’s biggest clubs since his move to Bayer Leverkusen this summer.

Manchester United renew interest in £50m Bayer Leverkusen defender

According to Fussball News, Real Madrid, United, AC Milan and Juventus are all monitoring the 25-year-old’s development.

Miguel Gutierrez only joined Leverkusen from Napoli for around £22million last summer, and is expected to fill the gap left by Alejandro Grimaldo’s departure in the long term, having quickly established himself as an important part of the team.

United’s interest in the Spaniard actually dates back years.

Jose Mourinho tried to sign him as a 16-year-old in 2017, only for Gutierrez to stay loyal to Real Madrid’s academy, and United returned with repeated bids during his time at Girona between 2022 and 2025, at one stage reportedly placing an “impossible to refuse” offer that still wasn’t enough.

He eventually left Real Madrid’s academy for Girona in 2022, impressed enough there to earn a Real Madrid buy-back option, before Napoli triggered a move instead last year.

United are now looking for attacking quality specifically at left-back, and are monitoring Gutierrez again following his quick settling-in period at Leverkusen.

There is currently no concrete transfer saga, with Fussball News reporting Leverkusen have received no offers and are not in direct negotiations with any interested club, with the focus purely on scouting and long-term monitoring for now.

Leverkusen have no interest in letting Gutierrez go again so soon, with his contract running until 30 June 2031, giving the German club a comfortable negotiating position.

Those in charge at Leverkusen would reportedly only consider a sale for a fee between £43million and £52million.

Given United’s long history of pursuing him without success, any fresh move would need considerably more conviction than previous attempts if it’s finally going to get over the line this time.