After a tough season, Manchester United are set for a summer of re-building. Things aren’t going to get any easier for David Moyes, who seems to be physically wasting away under the pressure.
One of his biggest challenges will be replacing the out-going members of his defense. The Red Devils could well wave goodbye to Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand and Patrice Evra this summer. The big Serbian has already confirmed his exit. Whether Ferdinand and Evra stay is still up for debate, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely by the day.
The Red Devils need to have a plan in place to deal with this defensive exodus. Failure to prepare could result in even more trouble for the club next season.
This is why I was interested to see The Mirror link Manchester United to Marseille’s highly-regarded young left-back, Benjamin Mendy.
The 19-year-old moved to Marseille last summer on the back of two years with Le Havre. He’s since made 22 appearances for the Ligue 1 side and has caught the eye of pundits and fans alike.
The teenager is comfortable on the ball, loves to bomb forward with pace and make things happen in the final third. He’s still a little sloppy defensively, but he’s improving on a game-by-game basis and provides plenty of attacking threat in compensation.
He may be a little raw to act as an immediate replacement for Patrice Evra, but in a couple of years time, he’ll be ready to make the step-up. If United can persuade their captain to stay for another year-or-so, it would seriously help with the transition.
The Mirror suggest that the 19-year-old could be available for as little as £5m. That’s hardly a bank-busting fee for a club like Manchester United. As such, this deal can’t really be considered a gamble (unlike the deal Moyes’ tied up for Marouane Fellaini).
It would also leave Manchester United with plenty of cash left-over to spend on bringing in a couple of world-class centre-backs. That’s why it’d be such a smart move.
What’s your take? Should The Red Devils make a move for Benjamin Mendy? Who else should they look at this summer?
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