Manchester United managed to persuade Alvaro Fernandez to ditch Real Madrid for the Reds after the club provided him with a detailed plan for his development.
The left-back arrived at Old Trafford from the Los Blancos academy in September 2020 and went straight into the Under-23s aged just 17. His rise saw him named the team’s player of the season last term before Preston North End opened their door for a loan move.
Fernandez is a key player in the Championship outfit’s set-up having played 23 times, normally as a wing-back. He’s provided four assists and kept seven clean sheets in that time.
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The Spaniard had joined Real from Deportivo de La Coruna aged 13 and four years later was offered a contract renewal. However, the youngster had his head turned by United, who had been tracking the teenager and approached him with an offer.
Speaking to The One And Only (via pnefc.net), Fernandez explained: “Real Madrid offered me another deal, but I said no, because I wanted to go to Manchester United. I chose them because they’re a big club and they showed me exactly how they were going to plan my football career.
“They told me I would go to the U23s even though I was 17. I came here and played with the U23s, which was good for me and the experience was great.
“More or less, I did well, and then I trained with the first team which was crazy. I was on the training pitch with Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford – just crazy.” Fernandez unpacked how the decision was a “big moment” in his young career and recalled how United first got in touch.
He added: “It was a big moment in my life, of course, because I came here and I did not speak English, so it was hard. But at the same time it was good, because I came to Manchester United, a big club with big history and it was a big challenge for me.
“I was in quarantine in Spain at the time during the Covid pandemic. I was just at home and Manchester United called us, my family and me, and at the beginning it was a big, crazy moment.
“I knew I was going to have to go alone, because my family couldn’t come. When we finished the talk, I spoke with my family, and I said: ‘Okay, I will go.’”
Fernandez lodged with an English host family for the first two years to help him adapt to life away from his family, which allowed him to build up the confidence to move out on his own.
The 19-year-old was named on the first-team bench in United’s final four matches of last season, but wasn't granted his senior debut. But his progression in the youth ranks had piqued the interests of Preston during the summer as United searched for a loan club for him.
“I think they [United] wanted a team that was close to them, around Manchester, so they could be close to me and come to watch me at games,” Fernandez detailed.
“They told me I had a big opportunity to come here, to come and play for a big club in the Championship with big fans, so they said: ‘If you go there it will be a challenge.’”
Speaking about his time at Deepdale so far, Fernandez said: “It’s hard, but that’s the Championship. I like the challenge of playing two games in a week, in different competitions, so I like it.
“The manager [Ryan Lowe] is great with me. He is looking to make me better, so that is good for me. That is what I came here for. I feel I have improved as a player since I came here.”
Fernandez is among a number of United youngsters to be loaned out to Championship clubs, with Ethan Laird (at Queens Park Rangers), Hannibal Mejbri (Birmingham) and Amad (Sunderland) all gaining first-team experience in the second tier.
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