A key piece in the puzzle may have fallen into place for Manchester United to sign Kieran Trippier.
To bring in a right-back, Manchester United have to decide what to do with Diogo Dalot.
As it stood, Dalot was ready to provide back-up to Aaron Wan-Bissaka after impressing in the pre-season win over Everton. He has not featured in either Premier League game so far.
Now there appears to be a late scramble for his services. Sky Sports report Borussia Dortmund have opened talks with United.
Dortmund want to sign Portugal international Dalot on a season long loan with an option to buy.
The report also claims Bayern Munich and AC Milan are interested.
So what is United’s plan at right-back?
With Brandon Williams and Ethan Laird both out on loan, there is only one explanation if United sanction a loan for Dalot.
United will be moving to sign a right-back, and it seems Kieran Trippier is the only option.
England Euro 2020 star Trippier was first linked to United by Sky Sports last December.
BBC Sport reported in June that United remained keen, but were unwilling to meet Atletico Madrid’s valuation.
The Telegraph reported in July that Trippier was prepared to wait until the end of the transfer window to seal his preferred move to United.
But for this to kick into action in late August, United needed to find a destination for Dalot. Now there appear to be a number of potential takers.
A report from The Telegraph last month claimed Arsenal made enquiries over Trippier. He was not so keen, and made clear he preferred to wait on a move to United.
What about Atletico?
Atletico Madrid have been keen to keep Trippier but they may be ready to accept defeat.
Fabrizio Romano reports they are considering a move for Lille right-back Zeki Celik, while Lille have a replacement in mind themselves.
It is all beginning to suddenly fall into place.
Can United get it done?
There is an element of risk here for United. If the club are over confident of signing Trippier, they could get caught out.
It would be farcical to loan out Dalot and not bring in any cover for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
That’s why an attempt to sign Trippier looks inevitable, it just is not a guaranteed success.
United have left it late again, and there is also a need to sign a player in midfield.
Can United sign more than one player before the deadline? In theory, yes, last summer saw a desperate flurry of activity. But it remains to be seen whether the club will want to be so active so late once again.
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