Alex Telles is set to face parent club Manchester United as part of the Sevilla team for the Europa League quarter final.
Telles was involved in a training ground bust-up with team-mate Hannibal Mejbri last May, just before United boss Erik ten Hag assumed the Old Trafford hotseat. The in-house fall-out came in the aftermath of United's humiliating 4-0 defeat away at Brighton at the tail-end of last term when morale was at its lowest under interim boss Ralf Rangnick.
Even though Ten Hag was not in the dugout at that point, he was informed of the situation and how Rangnick was so displeased with the incident that he ended that particular training session prematurely.
Both players were subsequently loaned out under Ten Hag’s green light, as Hannibal joined Birmingham City and Telles moved out to Sevilla. Both are due to return to Old Trafford this summer – although it is unlikely either will play a role in United’s first team next season.
Telles joined Sevilla on a season-long loan and is permitted to play against United "under the terms of his loan agreement". The Brazilian has featured 29 times for the Andalusian club this campaign, including in nine of their ten European fixtures to date.
He has only started 10 matches in La Liga for the club and has largely played second fiddle to Argentina international left-back Marcos Acuna. Telles will form part of Sevilla’s squad for their trip to Manchester, but he may not play from the start.
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Telles still has 14 months remaining on his existing deal, but it seems unlikely he will be reintegrated into United's squad when his loan spell ends. Luke Shaw has recently penned a new contract at United while Tyrell Malacia was signed last summer and Brandon Williams remains part of United’s squad.
Sevilla languish in 13 th place in La Liga and are just five points outside the relegation zone. It is believed that they will not follow-up their interest in signing Telles permanently, meaning United will have to find a suitor elsewhere.
“I don’t think about the future because that depends on what I do now,” Estadio Deportivo reported Telles as saying last month in quotes cited by Sport Witness. “Now I have to play and train. I’ve always said that I’m happy at Sevilla, I’m treated very well and now I have to play and do my best, which is the most important thing.”
The presence of Shaw and Malacia ensures that Telles is unlikely to force his way into Ten Hag’s first team plans – and the club will be open to his permanent exit this summer. Telles joined United in 2020 from FC Porto and has made 50 first-team appearances for the club, scoring one goal.
