Man Utd confirm first summer transfer deal as European giants trigger purchase option on former Real Madrid academy star

The left-back joined United from Real Madrid's academy in 2020 but never played for their first-team. Last season, the 21-year-old was on loan at Benfica and the Portuguese giants had an option to turn that into a permanent deal. Now, the Red Devils have confirmed he has signed for the Lisbon outfit.

The Spain under-21 international had a successful loan spell at Championship side Preston in 2022-23 and then spent the first half of this season with Granada, where he made 14 appearances. Following 16 matches with Benfica, where he scored one goal, his fairly unsuccessful time at United has come to a close. At a time when the Red Devils had injuries to Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw at left-back, Fernandez was still not called upon.

According to the Metro, Fernandez - who was Preston's young player of the year in 2023 - has joined Benfica for approximately £5.1 million ($6.45m) and has signed a five-year contract until the summer of 2029.

Following his United exit, a club statement reads: "Everyone at United would like to wish Alvaro all the best of luck in the future and will be keeping an eye on his progress." It remains to be seen whether United bolster their full back options in the summer window after offloading Fernandez, with the market set to officially re-open again on June 14.