Manchester United have added a new name to their squad in the form of Portuguese forward Betinho.
The 29-year-old is supposedly a new United player, having been placed on the Premier League website alongside the rest of Erik ten Hag's squad. The website says Betinho has been given the No.11 shirt, although United have not confirmed they have added to the player to their ranks and there remains uncertainty around the situation.
Ten Hag made five signings in the summer transfer window and Betinho would be his first in January, having been linked with a number of players in an attempt to strengthen his squad. The Red Devils sit in fifth in table, just four points behind fourth-placed Tottenham, who dropped points with a 2-2 draw at Brentford on Boxing Day.
Having started his senior career at Sporting Lisbon, Betinho made his senior debut in 2011 before going on to have short loan spells at Vitoria Setubal and Brentford. He made just one league appearance for the Bees during the 2014/15 season - coming on in a 3-0 defeat by Norwich City.
Brentford boss Mark Warburton said at the time that Betinho had impressed him in training but was working to adapt to the English game. However, after remaining on the bench through most first-team games in late September and October and then being left out of the side entirely, Betinho was dropped down to the development squad.
Betinho left Sporting in 2015 to join Belenenses on a four-year deal, although the former would still hold 60 per cent of his economic rights. It proved to be a pretty disastrous couple of years for Betinho, however, as he struggled for goals and was loaned back to Sporting’s B side for some much-needed game time.
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In 2019, Betinho earned himself a move to Portuguese club Espinho, where he has scored 18 league goals in 15 appearances. In a remarkable development, it has emerged that the former Portugal youth international could be on his way to Old Trafford following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner saw his contract terminated by mutual consent back in November following his explosive interview with Piers Morgan. Ronaldo did not hold back in his criticism of Ten Hag and declared he does not “respect” the Dutchman, while the striker also slammed the Glazers.
It is understood United have been since searching for a new attacker and they saw their long standing pursuit of Cody Gakpo all but come to an end on Boxing Day. PSV confirmed that the 23-year-old would be joining Liverpool in January after they hijacked the move for the Netherlands international in a deal worth up to £45million.
A club statement read: "PSV and Liverpool FC have reached an agreement on the upcoming transfer of Cody Gakpo. The 23-year-old attacker will immediately leave for England where he will undergo the necessary formalities to complete the transfer. Both clubs are not making any announcements about the transfer fee."
Despite missing out on Gakpo, the Premier League website claims United have found a new forward, with Betinho added to their squad ahead of the Red Devils' clash against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
