Man Utd Consider £17M Rated La Liga Star As Cheaper Alternative To Van De Ven

BACK David Tully Apr 25th 2026 Man Utd are interested in signing Elche centre-half David Affengruber, according to reports in Spain. Mundo Deportivo claims that the Red Devils are one of five clubs who are “very attentive” to the Austrian international. Atletico Madrid are believed to be the team who have the biggest chance of stopping the Red Devils from snapping up Affengruber. Diego Simeone’s side have good relations with Elche’s board, having negotiated deals for three other players – German Valera, Alejandro Iturbe and Rodrigo Mendoza. However, Real Betis, Villarreal and Sevilla have also been keeping a close eye on Affengruber this season. What do Man Utd fans need to know about the defender? Affengruber came through the ranks of Red Bull Salzburg. However, the majority of his game time came with their feeder club, FC Liefering, in Austria’s second division. The 25-year-old played just six times for Salzburg’s first team before being sold to Sturm Graz in 2021 for €400,000. After spending three years with Sturm Graz, having made 126 appearances in total, Affengruber left on a free transfer to join Elche in the summer of 2024. He has spent the last two seasons in Spain. Affengruber would be cheaper than van de Ven It was reported by The Athletic earlier this week that United do hold an interest in Tottenham centre-back Micky van de Ven. Despite having five centre-backs on the books – Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven – the Manchester club are hoping to add another to the first-team squad this summer. Van de Ven won’t be available on the cheap, and while he could cost less to sign if Spurs go down, Affengruber’s asking price would probably still be lower. Mundo Deportivo report that Elche value him at just €20m (£17m), with his contract set to expire next year. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.