Manchester United have endured some dreadful moments defensively despite their hefty world record transfer fee for a defender paid to acquire the services of Harry Maguire in 2019.
The Red Devil’s recent EPL result against Everton when they disappointedly threw away their 2 – 0 lead to eventually draw 3 – 3 at Old Trafford has left many United fans demanding for the urgent reinforcement of their defence.
Sequel to the above, many top defenders have been expectedly linked to Old Trafford. And notable amongst them was RB Leipzig’s France international left-back, Dayot Upamecano who is reportedly set to make a £38.5million transfer to join Bayern Munich after the Bundesliga champions recently activated his release.
Meanwhile, report reaching National Daily reveals that Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opted against moving for the French defender largely because the Red Devils would rather prefer a left-footed centre-back to compliment the right-footed Harry Maguire at the heart of their defence.
Though the 22-year-old centre-back is widely-regarded as one of the top defenders in Europe with several European giants like Liverpool and Chelsea earlier believed to be interested in the France international before his Bayern agreement, but National Daily gathered from a report by ESPN that the Red Devils chose not to rival Bayern for Upamecano as he do not fit their requirements as a left-sided defender.
However, United’s position is comprehensible as National Daily further understands that Solskjaer only has right-footed centre-backs at his disposal in the likes of his captain Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones. And the club’s only left-footed option, Marcos Rojo has departed for Boca Juniors in January.
United have persisted and often times struggled with Maguire and Lindelof as their first-choice options at the back but their defensive partnership has been questioned by many football pundits like Gary Neville.
United last week drew 1-1 with West Brom and Neville after the game said:
‘I want to make a point on Lindelof. Lindelof’s problem is Maguire, Maguire’s problem is Lindelof.
‘The problem is he (Lindelof) is alongside somebody who isn’t the most mobile in Harry Maguire, and I think that is the problem that Lindelof has got. That actually they have invested £80m in Maguire, so they are going to have to put somebody beside him.
‘I don’t think he does a good job alongside Maguire because they both just drop back a little bit and United need someone to get up the pitch. They have got to get up the pitch, they have got to be more aggressive.
‘They have got to have the nerve to make the stomach churn a little bit, that there is a bit too much space in behind them than there ordinarily would be and that is what the best teams have.
The Red Devils can only be hopeful to get a suitable option that will thick their box accurately.