Samuel Luckhurst and Tyrone Marshall joined Dominic Booth on a recent edition of the Manchester Is Red podcast to discuss the latest goings-on with Manchester United and during the show, the journalists spent some time discussing the Red Devils’ options at centre-back and the possibility that they may dip into the transfer market to sign a new central defender this summer.
There has been some speculation that the Red Devils could be in the market for a new central defender this summer. Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer approached Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake following United’s recent 5-2 win over the Cherries and the Norwegian’s conversation with the Dutch defender led to some speculation about Ake potentially making the move to Old Trafford, as per The Daily Mail.
Meanwhile, ex-Manchester United right-back Gary Neville recently claimed (via Metro) that a central defender is one of three transfers that United should ‘prioritise’ this summer.
Booth raised the topic of United possibly entering the market for a centre-back this summer during a recent edition of the Manchester Is Red podcast, saying: “There’s been some talk about United even going after a centre-back and reinforcing that area, there’s been question marks over [Harry] Maguire and [Victor] Lindelof and whether they need another option in there, how do you see that one?”
Marshall replied to Booth, saying: “I think there’s talk of a left-footed centre-back, you can kind of see the balance for that, but I don’t think a left-footed centre-back is essential in a good partnership.
“I think there’s still concerns over Lindelof. He had a good season last year and he’s been okay this year without ever really convincing that he’s necessarily a long-term partner for Maguire.
“I suppose you wonder whether the competition is there for him. [Axel] Tuanzebe’s had a write-off year this season with his injuries, [Eric] Bailly looked good initially, then was poor at Norwich recently and doesn’t seem to be trusted to start in the league, so I think there’s probably a concern at centre-back that you might need another body in there to partner Maguire but I certainly wouldn’t be looking to sign one before I’ve shipped at least a couple of [Marcos] Rojo, [Chris] Smalling, and [Phil] Jones out.”
Do Manchester United need to sign a centre-back this summer?
YES
NO
TIF Thoughts…
Maguire and Lindelof have been Manchester United’s main central defensive partnership this season. While Maguire has earned an average overall rating of 7.13 from his 36 Premier League appearances, making him the club’s seventh-highest rated player for the 2019/20 campaign in England’s top-flight according to WhoScored, Lindelof, who is valued at £25.2 million (as per Transfermarkt), has earned an uninspiring average overall rating of 6.70 from his 33 Premier League appearances this season, making him the Red Devils’ 14th-highest rated player in England’s top-flight this term, as per WhoScored.
The rest of United’s centre-backs have earned an even lower rating than Lindelof and/or played significantly fewer Premier League games than Maguire and Lindelof this season, so with that in mind, it may be understandable why the centre-back position might be “a concern” for the Red Devils, as Marshall suggested, and it mightn’t be a surprise if a new central defender is on United’s shopping list this summer.