5 former Man Utd youngsters with active buy-back clauses in their contracts
Current Benfica, Bayer Leverkusen and Villarreal stars are among the former Manchester United youngsters with buy-back clauses in their contracts.
When selling some of their most prized young stars, United have been clever enough to insert a buy-back clause into their deal, on the off chance that they blossom into a superstar.
We’ve taken a closer look at five former United youngsters who all currently have active buy-back clauses in their deals.
Alvaro Fernandez Carreras
With Ruben Amorim desperate to improve his wing-back options, it’s no surprise that United are weighing up Carreras’ buy-back option.
United picked up the Spaniard from the Real Madrid academy in 2020, but he never made a senior appearance for the club.
His major breakthrough came while out on loan with Preston North End in the Championship where made 42 appearances and produced six assists.
Despite being desperate to make it at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag opted against integrating him into the senior squad and he was sold to Benfica last summer following a successful loan spell.
Since signing for the Portuguese giants, the 21-year-old has gone from strength to strength and he’s now one of the most in-demand wing-backs in Europe.
Along with United sniffing around, the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid have also been linked with him in recent months.
Fortunately for United, they did include a buy-back clause when selling him to Benfica which is reportedly worth around £17million.
The clause will remain active until the summer of 2026, although with plenty of other clubs sniffing around, United could be tempted to trigger their option sooner rather than later.
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Willy Kambwala
Following an injury crisis in defence, Kambwala was drafted into the first-team last season and made 10 appearances for the club.
While the 20-year-old was highly rated at the club, they took the decision to sell him after he’d rejected a contract extension at Old Trafford.
Villarreal snapped up the young defender for a fee rising to around £10million, but United did cover their back and included a buy-back clause in the deal.
Since moving to Spain, Kambwala has only played 234 minutes of La Liga football as he’s predominantly been a backup option up until this point.
For those wondering, the buy-back clause will remain active until 2027.
Zidane Iqbal
The Iraq international made one senior appearance for the club before he was sold to FC Utrecht in 2023.
Since making the switch, Iqbal has made 31 appearances for the Eredivisie club, with around half of those games coming as a substitute.
Along with inserting a buy-back clause into his deal, United also included a 40% sell-on clause if Utrecht decides to cash in on him.
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Charlie Savage
Savage made his solitary senior appearance for the club in a Champions League clash with Young Boys back in December 2021.
After continuing to develop in the academy, United sold the midfielder to Reading in the summer of 2023.
The 21-year-old has since developed into a top player in League One, where he’s currently averaging a goal or assist every 203.6 minutes.
As part of the deal that Reading agreed to, United are entitled to 50% of any fee that Reading sell Savage for and the Red Devils also have the option to match any bid for the youngster in the future.
Given his eye-catching performances in League One this year, we wouldn’t be surprised if a few Championship sides were sniffing around in the summer.
Matej Kovar
After spending three consecutive years out on loan, United cashed in on Kovar when Bayer Leverkusen came calling in 2023.
The 24-year-old shot-stopper has predominantly been a backup option to Lukas Hradecky, although he has been handed plenty of chances in the cup competitions.
In total, Kovar has made 26 appearances since making the switch to Germany and he’s also got his hands on three trophies during that time including the Bundesliga title.
According to reports at the time of his sale, United did include a buy-back clause in his deal, although the fee that United would have to pay wasn’t disclosed.