Concern raised over Balde to Man Utd transfer after U-turn - 'We had him here'

Barcelona have a recent history of developing left-backs, with both options in the World Cup-winning Spain squad coming through La Masia. However, neither Alex Grimaldo nor Marc Cucurella made more than one first-team appearance before being sold.

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

Respected Barcelona-based journalist Dani Senabre has cited both examples as reasons to keep Balde. Speaking on the Spanish radio station COPE, he said: "It would be bad for me if we ran the risk of what already happened when Grimaldo left or when Cucurella left.

Balde was thought to be intent on staying at Barcelona and proving his worth to head coach Hansi Flick. But SPORT's latest update claims he has reconsidered after discussions with his agent, Mendes.

Cucurella and Grimaldo played a combined 146 times for Barcelona Atletic. However, that translated into just a single senior outing between them before leaving their boyhood club for good.

The former made a late cameo in their Copa del Rey round of 32 first-leg tie against third-tier side Real Murcia. They were a division below Barcelona B at the time, and that was it.

He returned to playing for their reserves before going on loan to Eibar, who signed him permanently for around £2million, only for Barca to buy him back for double that fee barely a fortnight later.

Within two days, Getafe loaned him for the following season before going on to sign him permanently for £5million. Real Madrid paid Chelsea over ten times that amount to sign Cucurella this summer.

As for Grimaldo, he spent four seasons with Barcelona's reserves before joining Benfica for just over £1million. That move materialised as the full-back approached the final six months of his contract.

He went on to make over 300 appearances across all competitions for the Lisbon club before joining Bayer Leverkusen Grimaldo has returned to Spain this summer with Atletico Madrid.

Balde, by contrast, spent just a single season with Barca B before impressing in pre-season and becoming the first team's main backup to Jordi Alba. He has since made 168 first-team appearances, but Xavi Espart started their La Liga opener at left-back, with Joao Cancelo among the substitutes, and Balde left out entirely.