Manchester United youngster Alvaro Fernandez wants to be a frequent fixture in Erik ten Hag’s first team next season. The 20-year-old, who has never made a senior appearance for the Red Devils, claims to have a variety of transfer offers on the table as he looks to secure regular game time.
Fernandez arrived at Old Trafford as a 17-year-old. The left-back put pen to paper on a four-year contract after spending three years in Real Madrid’s esteemed academy set-up.
Having been given his first taste of senior football last campaign with a season-long loan at Preston North End, Fernandez grasped his opportunity with both hands. Playing week in, week out in a notoriously tough league, the youngster managed four assists from 39 appearances.
Now, Fernandez feels that it is time to take a step up as he wants to either stay at Old Trafford or go to a ‘top league’ in 2023/24.
“Hopefully I can stay in the United first team,” he told AS. “If it doesn’t happen and I have to go out on loan, then [I will] keep working hard and keep growing. I am 20 years old and what I want is to play. But if it can be at United, much better.
“I have been called [by] great Championship teams. And Preston wanted to continue counting on me. In case of going out on loan, I would say that the time has come to go to a top league, but not necessarily to the Premier League or La Liga.”
Fernandez evidently has his heart set on the big time, even with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia ahead of him in the left-back pecking order. And he refused to rule out a return to his homeland a few years down the line.
“In the end, I have been away [from Spain] for a few years,” added the former Los Blancos academy star. “That’s fine, but there’s always that spark to return. I’m great in England, it’s the truth, but there is always that door open to return to Spain in the future.”