Man Utd in battle with Liverpool to re-sign player let go in summer with new £40m valuation

United have the edge with a buy-back clause option

Manchester United have found themselves in a battle with arch-rivals Liverpool to re-sign a player they let go in the summer who now has a £40million asking fee.

The young starlet left Old Trafford in the summer for just £5million as the left-back moved to Benfica for more playing time.

Now, Alvaro Carreras (formerly Fernandez) has become a star in Portugal, with his selling price increasing eight times and attracting the gaze of interested European giants.

Both Marca and O Jogo have reported that Liverpool are keen on the 21-year-old's signature and are ready to pay the £40million asking price to replace Andy Robertson as a long term replacement.

However, Man United have plans to foil their rival's plans as, despite their oversight in letting the Spaniard leave for so cheap, they did remember to put a buy-back clause in his contract.

This clause is reportedly worth £16million pounds, significantly less than his regular £40million release clause, however, would present a £10million loss for the Red Devils.

Carreras joined Man United in 2020 at the age of 16 from Real Madrid and had been tipped as a future United star.

The left-back never made a competitive appearance for the Red Devils, however.

Former manager Erik ten Hag previously said: “I think the process is perfect. We loan him to Preston, he got back, then we loan him to Granada, he didn't play so much there, and of course we, all the time, observed him and now we had the opportunity to sell him. But we have a buy-back [clause] so we have control of the situation, I think that's what he needed."

Carreras was let go with United having Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia ahead of him in the pecking order, but both have been regularly side-lined through injury, emphasising that maybe letting the left-back leave was not the smartest idea.

Only time will tell where the rising star will end up in the future.