Club Brugge left-back Joaquin Seys has sent a clear message to Manchester United about his future.

The 21-year-old already emerged as a target for the Red Devils in the summer, but a deal was not feasible. Club Brugge were adamant that Seys would not leave the club after they had already lost Christos Tzolis to Arsenal.

It is easy to see why the Belgium international appeared on Man Utd's radar, though. Seys was coming off an impressive season during which he scored five goals and produced eight assists in just over 4,200 minutes.

Remarkably, Seys seems to be on course to better these numbers this season. He is already halfway towards matching his assist numbers from last term, and he opened his goal account against RC Lens in the Champions League this weekend.

Brugge are the current flavour of the month in Europe after demolishing Inter and Lens, thanks to Seys and in-demand striker Nicolo Tresoldi. They have also played an almost spotless Jupiler Pro League campaign to date, winning all but one of their eight games.

Seys addresses Man Utd rumours

Despite being just 21, Seys has already made more than a century of senior appearances for Brugge, and he seems primed for a big transfer in 2027. His club may be more amenable to a sale next year, although they will also lose Tresoldi, so this can't be said for certain at this stage.

What can be said for certain is that Man Utd desperately need a left-back. The Red Devils took a massive gamble not bolstering that position in the summer, and they are now paying the price.

It is unlikely that Seys will be available in January, but the same applies to most of Man Utd's key targets for that position, such as Lewis Hall and Adrien Truffert. They may be forced to sign a stopgap mid-season before bringing in a proper reinforcement in the summer.

If he keeps up his current trajectory, Seys will once more become a genuine target for the Old Trafford outfit. At this stage, however, his full focus is on Club Brugge. He does not seem interested in transfer speculation.

The Belgian spoke to VTM about his future and clarified that Man Utd refrained from taking any concrete steps to sign him in the summer. Looking ahead to 2027, he added: "To be honest, I’m not really thinking about that yet.

"This is the club I love, so it’s wonderful that I’ve already been able to play so many matches here. This club is close to my heart, and I would give everything for it. Right now, I’m focusing entirely on Club Brugge, and we’ll see what happens after that."

Analytics firm SciSports predicts that Seys can become a significantly better player than Shaw, who is 10 years his senior. Patrick Dorgu has slightly higher potential than the 21-year-old, but the Dane's future seems to lie in the attack.

Seys' positive development is also reflected in his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), which is currently peaking at €23.8 million and makes him the third-most-valuable player in the Jupiler Pro League.