NO DEFENCE It’s time for a big clear-out!
IF there is an area of the United squad where they have invested particularly abysmally in recent years it is at centre-back.
The Reds spent a world-record fee on Harry Maguire, who has been world-class only for his country.
Raphael Varane arrived 10 years later than intended, Victor Lindelof received a salary increase after United’s worst defensive season in 40 years.
Eric Bailly’s contract was extended 14 months ago and he has played 13 times since, and Phil Jones has completed 90 minutes once in the last two years. Marcos Rojo, a defender discarded at the umpteenth attempt, was put up for sale in four out of his five summers at the club and in the only one he wasn’t, he was injured.
The Argentine reserved his biggest impact in Manchester for Tiffany’s in Selfridges. He thought he bought three pairs of earrings at £4,000 apiece. Once he got home and thoroughly examined the receipt, he realised he had omitted a ‘0.’ They cost £40,000 each. Rojo had dropped £120,000 rather than a modest £12,000.
It was not just tackles Rojo miscalculated. The very mention of his name once prompted Ryan Giggs to shake his head regrettably.
There was much head-shaking at United’s defending last season. They shipped 57 goals in 38 Premier League games and in half of their dozen defeats the opponents put at least four past them.
The Reds’ squad rebuild is so extensive the starting defence may be left largely intact. Five squad players are free to leave, but Ed Woodward’s legacy of doling out undeserved contracts to pad a flattering asset sheet makes early sales or loans unlikely.
Jones is three-quarters of the way through a contract. He has started 16 games since he shook hands with caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in February 2019 on that deal. That is a hard sell, never mind Jones’s injury record.
Bailly, 28, appeared more often for the Ivory Coast than United last season and has averaged fewer than 20 club appearances in his six campaigns with them.
The Reds should have sold Bailly last year and the three-year renewal for a 20-something indicated they were unconvinced by their own investment.
Jones and Bailly are not oblivious to their standings and intend to leave.
Axel Tuanzebe’s situation is not as clear-cut as United would be reluctant to leave themselves short when certain squads accommodate five centre-halves. Teden Mengi needs a more fulfilling loan after his stint at Birmingham was curtailed by injury.
Lindelof, 28 next month and out of contract in 2024, is susceptible to speed and strength, hardly ideal for a centre-half in the Premier League. Should United recruit another centre-back it would relegate the Swede to fourth choice and United should have him in mind as a potential outgoing for next summer. Alex Telles caught himself wondering ‘was this a good season’ on Instagram last month. Watching him at times, he can appear to be a
Eric Bailly’s contract was extended 14 months ago and he has played 13 times for the club since
worse Brazilian United full-back than Celio Silva – who was unable to complete a £4million move to Old Trafford in 1997 due to work permit issues.
Telles is reprieved by United’s determination to drive Aaron Wan-Bissaka out amid his refusal to drive forward into the final third.
Following his season-long loan at Norwich, which ended in relegation, Brandon Williams has not been assured of regular playing time and United are prepared to cash in.
The Reds’ starting back five could be familiar against Brighton when the Premier League season starts on August 7.
David de Gea impressed enough to be voted the players’ player of the year and United are optimistic Luke Shaw can recover from his European Championship hangover.
Varane and Maguire have a favourable record as a partnership – United have not lost when the pair have started and finished a game together.
Maguire was a walking disaster last season and has to be stripped of the captaincy, but is hardly a busted flush. Pep Guardiola coveted him three years ago, Jose Mourinho the summer before that and Sir Alex Ferguson endorsed his signing.
Diogo Dalot is a personable professional who loves playing for United and is hopeful of improving under Erik ten Hag. His and Shaw’s contracts expire next year but the Reds will trigger the one-year options in both deals, with the club focused on external signings rather than renewals, pooled from the same budget.
They have invested prematurely in defence often enough.