Free agent Santiago Arias can negotiate with Manchester United on his own, according to Colombian journalist Pipe Sierra.

The Lowdown: Arias rumours

The Red Devils have been heavily linked with a move for the right-back in recent days after he left Atletico Madrid as a free agent over the summer.

The 30-year-old reportedly had ‘his bags ready to move to Manchester United’, with rumours since suggesting that Erik ten Hag is personally willing to welcome the right-back at Old Trafford to provide competition to Diogo Dalot and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

The Latest: Sierra’s update

Sierra, a respected Colombian journalist who broke updates on Luis Diaz's move to Liverpool, took to Twitter on Tuesday evening to share what he knows about Arias and a potential move to Old Trafford.

He said that ‘the circle of agents and lawyers’ that look after Arias ‘are not in dialogues or negotiations’ with United and that ‘they don’t believe in this rumour’. However, Sierra added that the ‘right-back is free to negotiate by his own’.

The Verdict: Over to Arias…

Arias, labelled as ‘very complete’ by former Leverkusen coach Peter Bosz, may need to personally push a move to Manchester following this update.

It could be a shrewd one by both the player and United, though, especially with Ten Hag’s side having plenty of football to play this season.

The United boss doesn’t appear to rate Wan-Bissaka very highly after making him surplus to requirements over the summer, so Arias could well leapfrog the Englishman in the pecking order, should a move materialise.