1
Former Manchester United left back Alvaro Fernandez Carreras scored his first goal of the season in SL Benfica’s 2-1 victory over Farense.
The Spaniard joined United’s academy in 2020 and whilst he impressed on loan at Preston North End, he never made a first team appearance for the Red Devils.
He was sold to Benfica this summer after initially impressing on loan during the last campaign.
The 21 year old is still clearly highly-rated at Old Trafford as the Red Devils did ensure that the deal with Benfica contained a buy-back clause and there have been rumours that they may even look to activate said clause as early as the January transfer window.
It has also been reported this week that new United head coach, Ruben Amorim, is a fan of the young Spaniard and could be tempted to sign him during the next transfer window.
Fernandez has impressed this season for As Águias, playing 14 games in all competitions, scoring once and providing two assists.
The young fullback put his name further in the spotlight with a fine finish to give Benfica an equaliser in the 21st minute of action at the Estádio Algarve.
On an impressive counter, he strode forward into the penalty box and expertly tucked a powerful finish into the bottom left hand corner, in what was only his second-ever professional goal.
Sofascore gave the fullback an impressive score of 8.1, as he provided his third goal involvement in as many games.
He had a mammoth 114 touches of the ball, a strong passing percentage of 94% and provided one key pass in the match.
Fernandez also impressed defensively as he made six clearances, won four tackles and won five out of his eight ground duels.
The youngster is certainly giving United something to think about as they remain without a left back as Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are both a few weeks away from making a return to first-team action.
What’s more, Amorim’s 3-4-3 system requires full backs who are very comfortable in advanced positions and this is something Fernandez has excelled in ever since he made his debut in the academy, known for his marauding runs down the left byline.
Feature image Carlos Rodrigues via Getty Images