Manchester United are eyeing a shock move for a Manchester City veteran.
Moves between the two city rivals are extremely rare at first-team level, with the latest being Owen Hargreaves, and the most notable in recent years to play for the two clubs being Carlos Tevez.
But there may soon be a new name to add to the list, in a position United are known to want to strengthen.
United in shock exploration of surplus-to-requirements City man
The Red Devils are known to be in the market for a goalkeeper if the right opportunity arises, especially after an injury saw current first-choice gloveman Andre Onana ruled out of pre-season.
His position was not the strongest in any case after a season that left a lot to be desired, and his deputy Altay Bayindir did not fare much better when called upon, save for an FA Cup triumph against Arsenal.
In a shock development, FootballTransfers have revealed that United have been in contact with City goalkeeper Stefan Ortega to sound him out for a move.
The 32-year-old has now slipped down the pecking order after the Sky Blues brought in James Trafford from Burnley to compete with Ederson.
An official bid has not yet been forthcoming, but fact-finding discussions have been held with the player in case an approach is made.
Ortega, according to the report, is open to hearing United’s pitch but has not yet made a final decision.
In FourFourTwo’s opinion, this would be a remarkable move, purely on account of players rarely moving between the two sides.
But Ortega, per the same report, is believed to want more game time, and Onana seems unlikely to depart in this window, especially carrying an injury.
So not only would the German shot-stopper take all the heat from City fans in his shuffle across Manchester, he’d also be back where he started, competing with a first-choice goalkeeper for minutes.
Ortega is worth €8m, according to Transfermarkt.
