Manchester United and Real Madrid have seemingly been handed a significant boost in their hopes of landing AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez, who is experiencing 'high tension' with head coach Paulo Fonseca.
The 27-year-old has been heralded as one of Europe's best players in his position for a number of years and has already come up with two goals and two assists in 19 matches in all tournaments this season.
Both Man United and Real Madrid are expected to be on the lookout for new left-backs in 2025, and as Hernandez is only contracted to Milan for another 18 months, a cut-price opportunity may arise.
After five straight Serie A matches with the captain's armband, Hernandez was surprisingly axed from the starting lineup for the goalless draw with Genoa on December 15, where Alex Jimenez started in his place.
The latter retained his starting position for the 1-0 win over Hellas Verona a few days later, although Hernandez was introduced in the first half of the match due to an injury to Rafael Leao.
Fonseca publicly calls out Hernandez?
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However, Gazzetta dello Sport claims that there is significant tension between the France international and Fonseca, who has been left dissatisfied with the left-back's recent displays on the training field.
The Milan boss apparently delivered his verdict to Hernandez in front of other members of the Milan squad, but he still hailed Hernandez as the best in his position in the world when speaking to the media recently.
"Theo has played a lot, he has been in the national team. He has not yet found his best physical condition, he is very important for us," Fonseca said.
"It is never a punishment for him, it is simply to get him back in the best condition. I continue to say that for me he is the best full-back in the world."
Hernandez has contributed a total of 31 goals and 41 assists from 232 matches for the Rossoneri, who signed him from Real Madrid for £18.9m in 2019 after he failed to make the grade at the Bernabeu.
Why Man Utd, Real Madrid could still hit Hernandez stumbling block
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Fonseca and Hernandez's alleged disagreements - and the Milan boss letting the defender know his thoughts in front of the rest of the squad - bears a striking resemblance to the Ben White England situation.
The Arsenal full-back left the 2022 World Cup camp after assistant manager Steve Holland purportedly made a barbed comment about his interest in football in earshot of fellow players, and he has not been back in the national team setup since.
However, while White is yet to perform an England U-turn, Hernandez and Milan are supposedly still optimistic of coming to an agreement over a contract renewal, as the 27-year-old still wants to continue his career at San Siro.
That is not to say that a 2025 deal is totally off the cards for Man United or Real Madrid, but both sides would need to fork out a pretty penny to land Hernandez next year if he does extend his stay in Italy.
Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies and Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez have been mentioned as alternative targets for the Red Devils, who cannot trust the perennially injured Luke Shaw to stay fit for a whole season.
Ben Knapton
