Manchester United 'monitoring' Real Sociedad full-back Alvaro Odriozola

Manchester United are reportedly monitoring Real Sociedad defender Alvaro Odriozola and recently sent scouts to watch the full-back, who is also said to be courting interest from La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Odriozola has established himself as the first-choice right-back at the Anoeta this season and has started all but one of Eusebio Sacristan's side's league matches this season. Sociedad have struggled for form and currently lie 15th in the Spanish top-flight, but Odriozola's performances have still managed to pique the interest of some of Europe's heavyweights, according to the Daily Mail.

United are said to have dispatched a scout to run the rule over the 22-year-old during Sociedad's Europa League clash against Red Bull Salzburg last week, while Real Madrid and Barcelona have both considered making moves [AS] for the two-time Spain international in the coming months.

Real were said to have made their interest in Odriozola clear during the January transfer window, but a deal for the promising defender, valued at around £18m by Sociedad, failed to come to fruition.

With 33-year-old Antonio Valencia entering the twilight of his career and Matteo Darmian failing to establish himself as a regular part of United's starting line-up, Jose Mourinho's men could require a new right-back ahead of the summer, along with two central midfielders and a left-back, the report adds.

Odriozola, a very offensive right-back after starting out as a winger but also more than capable of carrying out his defensive duties, could be the man to replace the able but ageing Valencia at United but is solely committed to Real Sociedad, who managed to tie him down to a new long-term deal which includes a €40m release clause earlier this season [Marca].

Asked about apparent interest from Real and Barcelona earlier in the campaign, Odriozola said, per ESPN: "It is true that playing with Spain everything gets magnified, but I renewed my contract with La Real until 2022 for a reason.

"I am only thinking about Real Sociedad -- that's the only thing in my head. I do not stop to think about how my game with the national team went. I just try and do my job well, work hard and do not stop to think about what I did or did not do."