Manchester United interested in Spurs defender

According to high profile Spanish publication AS, Manchester United are set to challenge giants Real Madrid for the signature of Tottenham Hotspur full-back Pedro Porro.

The interest from Real Madrid is no secret, with most people aware of all the talk by now. However, this seems to be the first report linking him with a move across the Premier League to Manchester United.

Manchester United showing interest in Pedro Porro's services

It doesn’t take a genius to understand why. Manchester United have just appointed Ruben Amorim as their new manager, replacing Erik ten Hag, who was relieved of his duties last month - after just over two years in the Old Trafford hotseat.

At Sporting, Porro played for Amorim 98 times, scoring 12 goals and providing a further 28 assists, enjoying great success as the right-wing back in Amorim’s system. He has only used 11 players more than Porro in his managerial career so far.

 It was those performances that lead to Spurs signing him, seeing him as the perfect fit for Conte’s wing-back system. It really is a testament to the player that he adapted so well to Ange’s style, and playing in a flat back four.

On the one hand, Amorim being at United means they are going to likely have an interest in the player. From a more glass half full perspective, these links could just be quite lazy and simply attributed to Porro already playing for Amorim. There isn’t a guarantee that managers will just always go for their old players.  

That said, Noussair Mazraoui has impressed since joining from Bayern Munich in the summer, whilst Diogo Dalot won players player of the year last season, and is a compatriot of Amorim. That said, one of those may haver to play on the other side, which could open up interest in Porro, or another right sided player.

It would not be the first time that Porro would be contracted to a side from Manchester, having been on the books at Manchester City for a few years, though he never made a first team appearance – seemingly, he didn’t get close either.

In the last few weeks, Porro’s form has actually not quite been up to standard. However, another good performance for the national team, followed by some needed rest should have done him some good, so we will see how he performs now that club football is back.