United priced out of upgrades for two key positions
SIGNING a defensive midfielder should have been the priority for United last summer and it should still be the priority in January.
United were desperate to add West Ham’s Declan Rice to their squad in the summer, though the Hammers’ lofty £100 million valuation of the England international meant his move to Old Trafford was scuppered.
Despite United’s attempts to sign a holding midfielder, the club were also understood to be pursuing a deal for Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier.
Again the price tag slapped on the United target’s head proved to be a stumbling block, and the defeat to Manchester City on Saturday was the clearest indication yet that the club made a massive mistake not bowing to Atleti’s demands.
While the entire United team have been lambasted at times this season, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been the subject of more criticism than most.
Wan-Bissaka is a fantastic one-on-one defender and he’s managed to keep some of the best wingers in the league at bay during his time at Old Trafford, but Pep Guardiola masterminded the perfect plan to isolate the former Crystal Palace man on derby day.
Phil Foden was deployed out wide by Guardiola and City made sure to always play the ball to his feet. When Wan-Bissaka came out to try and make a challenge, City quickly moved the ball inside where the overlapping Joao Cancelo could then drive at the United backline.
The absence of a defensive midfielder, as well as the injured Raphael Varane, meant that Cancelo had free rein on the City left and it was no surprise to see him play a part in both of their goals. However, it’s unfair to put all of the blame on Wan-Bissaka.
Gary Neville commented on the right-back’s performance after the game and Paul Scholes also criticised Wan-Bissaka, saying: “I said before the 3-5-2 doesn’t suit the players in the team. Wan-Bissaka is useless on the ball - brilliant defender but useless on the ball at right-back.”
Now, to an extent, Scholes is right. Wan-Bissaka’s attacking output certainly isn’t the best, but if United had signed Trippier, Solskjaer would have been able to play the former Tottenham man at right wing-back, meaning Wan-Bissaka could then have slotted in as the right-sided centre-back where his attacking deficiencies wouldn’t have been so readily exposed.
Trippier has improved a lot since joining Atletico in 2019, with Diego Simeone’s defensive style of play helping to improve a facet of his game that was criticised during his time in the Premier League.
Not only is he now a solid defender, he’s also retained his superb ability to support the attack by whipping brilliant crosses into the box.
If United had been able to call upon both Trippier and Wan-Bissaka on Saturday, the latter would have been able to nullify Cancelo’s attacking threat when the City full-back stepped into United’s half, while Trippier’s attacking intent would have also helped to push Cancelo back.