Defender who snubbed Jose Mourinho twice emerges as Man Utd transfer target

Manchester United have recently made a transfer decision in the left-back area of the squad with Sergio Reguilon's return to Tottenham Hotspur - but have another player in that position on their radar moving forwards.

Reguilon moved to United towards the end of the summer transfer window on loan for the campaign from Spurs, making a total of 12 appearances for Erik ten Hag's side.

The move was made owing to injuries suffered by Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, who have often been first and second choice left-backs for Ten Hag.

However, United opted to exercise a break clause in the deal earlier this month owing to both Shaw and Malacia nearing a return from injury.

Even though United will very soon have a full complement of left-backs available again, it does not mean that they are not scouring the market for potential options in the future.

And the latest name to emerge is a player that the club have previously expressed an interest in the past, and who has snubbed former Old Trafford boss Jose Mourinho on two occasions, when he was in charge of both the Red Devils and at Spurs.

The player in question is current Girona defender Miguel Gutierrez, who has been with the La Liga side since 2022 and has established himself as the club's first choice left-back in that time.

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The Sun reports that United, AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund are three sides who are monitoring the former Real Madrid defender, with Ten Hag's side sending a scout to watch Gutierrez in action.

A pricetag of £22m is mentioned in the report, but Real still own 50% of Gutierrez's rights and have a sell-on clause, which could add complications to any potential deal.

But it is not the first time United have coveted the left-back's services.

Back in 2017 when Mourinho was United boss, he had sought to acquire Gutierrez, but the defender wished to remain in Madrid to be close to his family, according to reports at the time.

And when Mourinho took charge of Spurs, Gutierrez again rejected the chance to work with him, opting to remain at Real.

Time will tell if it's second time lucky for United when it comes to bringing Gutierrez to England.