Man Utd transfer target ‘doesn’t want to leave’ this summer, says manager

Jorge Salinas remains fully committed to Racing Santander and ‘doesn’t want to leave’ for Manchester United or Barcelona at this stage of his career.

That’s according to Racing manager Jose Alberto, who has grown tired with the incessant rumours surrounding Salinas’ future throughout the summer transfer window.

Salinas broke out of Racing’s academy ranks to make his first-team debut back in 2024 and has gone on to establish himself as one of the brightest young talents in Spanish football.

The 19-year-old left-back played an instrumental role last season as Racing finished top of the Segunda Division to secure promotion to La Liga for the first time since 2012.

But Salinas’ outstanding performances have not gone unnoticed, with United and Barcelona both credited with a strong interest in recent weeks as they look to bring in defensive reinforcements ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.

Barca are on the hunt for a left-back after Joao Cancello returned to Al-Hilal following a loan spell at Camp Nou, while the Red Devils have been forced to viable alternatives to top target Lewis Hall in search of competition for Luke Shaw.

Newcastle have reportedly ruled out a move for Hall before the transfer deadline and Salinas has emerged as a significantly cheaper plan B at Old Trafford, available for just €16m (£13.7m) due to a release clause in his contract at Racing.

Amid the swirling speculation over his future, Salinas was given the nod to start in Racing’s pre-season friendly with Alaves on Friday night, along with Gustavo Puerta – who is being heavily linked with Serie A giants Roma.

‘Their professionalism doesn’t surprise me,’ Racing boss Alberto said of Salinas and Puerta when asked about the ongoing rumours.

‘What surprises me is that people are constantly talking about the departure of two of our players [Salinas and Gustavo Puerta], when they have contracts and are our players.’

Alberto underlined the duo’s ‘importance’ to his project at Racing and claimed neither wished to leave with the new season fast coming into view on the horizon.

‘They’re very important to us,’ he added.

‘I don’t want them to leave. And they show every day that they don’t either.

‘But we know how this world works and there are release clauses. If a team comes along and pays the clause, they cease to be our players.’

Though ‘bothered’ by the incessant rumours, Alberto stressed that both Salinas and Puerta remained Racing players as long as they were contracted to the club.

‘Until that happens, it really bothers me that these things are being discussed,’ he continued.

‘They’re Racing players, and as they’ve shown, they want to be here.’

Last week, Racing sporting director Chema Aragon made similar remarks about Salinas.

However, he admitted the club were powerless if a ‘giant’ such as Barcelona or United were to make a ‘significant’ offer for the teenager over the coming weeks.

‘There’s little you can do if a giant appears,’ Aragan told reporters.

‘We value the assets we have, we consider them important.

‘For the club, at this time, there is no other option than to try to strengthen the team and not weaken it by losing stars.

‘The reality is that the club that wants him has to come along with an offer.’

Aragon added: ‘Hopefully he stays. It would be our dream.

‘We’re going to try everything we can to make it happen, just like we did in the winter with Gustavo Puerta.

‘But it’s also true that if significant offers come in, it will be more complicated.’

United have been keeping close tabs on Salinas for some time and were especially enamoured by his displays at this summer’s European Under-19 Championship, where Spain emerged triumphant.

Salinas’ current contract with Racing runs through to June 2029.

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