Details of United’s audacious late hijack attempt for exciting World Cup star come to light – report

Manchester United could do with signing a long-term successor to Luke Shaw this summer. With Tyrell Malacia leaving, the Red Devils currently have the Englishman as their only specialist senior left-back at the club. Both Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui have played there, but both are far more adept at right-back. Michael Carrick is expected to hand academy wonderkids Diego Leon and Harry Amass minutes in pre-season to see if they can earn the right to be Shaw’s backup this season. United’s left-back options INEOS have options on the market as well, with Lewis Hall of Newcastle and Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde among the names being looked at. There was another name on the list: Nathaniel Brown of Eintracht Frankfurt. His performances for Germany in the World Cup have shown why. The German left-back has one goal and an assist in the two games he has started, and he was enamoured with the idea of playing under Michael Carrick at Old Trafford. However, Bayern Munich have won the race for his signature, but not without the 20-time English league champions giving a tough fight to the Bavarians. Nathaniel Brown to Bayern was not without incident According to TEAMtalk, there was a brief period when talks stalled between Bayern and Frankfurt, and United tried to muscle in on the action. However, in the end, the plan did not work out and Nathaniel Brown ended up choosing Bayern. Interestingly, Arsenal were also eyeing a late hijack, alongside United. “Nathaniel Brown is heading to Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga champions finally completed a deal for the Eintracht Frankfurt defender, but TEAMtalk can reveal Arsenal and Manchester United both explored whether there was a late opportunity to hijack the move. “However, Brown’s move was not without uncertainty. The transfer stalled for more than a week as negotiations dragged on, prompting rival clubs to monitor the situation closely in case the deal collapsed. United’s late hijack did not pan out “Our sources can reveal that both Arsenal and Man Utd made enquiries during that period. Sources have confirmed the Premier League pair “asked the question” over whether there was any danger of Bayern’s move breaking down, and made it clear to Brown’s representatives that they remained very interested should the opportunity arise. “Neither club progressed beyond exploratory talks, but both were prepared to move if negotiations in Germany had fallen through.” It will be interesting to see whether United end up signing a left-back or if they ask Patrick Dorgu, who excelled in a more attacking role, to act as Luke Shaw‘s deputy. Feature image Alex Grimm via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25