Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has sent a scouting group to Portugal to watch a high-stakes match between Porto and Braga on Friday night.
While it is still unclear which players the English club’s scouting contingent was on the lookout for, goalkeeper Diogo Costa and defender David Carmo are believed to have been the main subjects of the mission.
Goalkeeper Costa has been widely linked in recent months with a possible move to the Theater of Dreams with Ten Hag interested in a David de Gea replacement.
Yesterday United suffered a 6-3 thrashing at the hands of their cross-town rivals in which De Gea’s shortcomings, while not directly contributing to the thrashing, were on full display.
The Spaniard does not have a contract at United this summer although there is an option to extend it for another year.
According to The Mirror, “Diogo Costa is seen by Erik ten Hag as a replacement for David de Gea.”
It comes just over a month after the United boss criticized De Gea following his side’s humiliating four-goal defeat at Brentford, describing the Spaniard’s decision-making as “naive” and a key reason behind the move. shameful collapse.
According to Correio da Manhã via SportWitness, the goalkeeper’s agent, who is also De Gea’s facilitator, Jorge Mendes, is hell-bent on a big move for the Porto goalkeeper in 2023.
Along with United, Atletico Madrid are also admirers of the 23-year-old.
As for Carmo, the Red Devils have always had a long-standing interest in the Portuguese centre-back.
First linked with the club in 2020, he was also mentioned in the summer as a possible alternative to Jurrien Timber, who turned down a move to Old Trafford, choosing to stay at Ajax ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
A report from two months ago indicated that United were still huge fans of Carmo and that if Timber remained unattainable, the club would opt for the 6-foot-5 specimen.
