Solskjaer’s magical start to his managerial career at Manchester United is now sure to be rewarded with the permanent job at the club. Reports say that the announcement could come as early as this week. With that out of the way, our board can now focus on signings for the summer transfer window because we need a lot of them! One of the key areas we need strengthening in is defence.
This upcoming transfer window will be a massive one for us. It will show the world our intent. It will show the world of football exactly where our interests lie. Are we satisfied with fighting for top 4 or do we want the big trophies? An example of how a big club behaves has been demonstrated in the last few weeks. The first one was Real Madrid already locking in a deal for Eder Militao because they know that this season was completely unacceptable by their standards. Their arch rivals, Barcelona, have already signed Frenkie De Jong and are now close to signing De Ligt as well.
Manchester United need to behave the same way if we need to compete. Because behind the sacking of all three managers, there has been a constant – our board. So with that, here are some centre back options that we definitely need to consider.
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| Image Source: Daily Express |
1) Kalidou Koulibaly
He is probably the best centre back in the world, alongside Virgil Van Dijk. The Senegalese is 27 is in the prime of his life and there isn’t a better time to sign him. He’ll cost us about £100m but that is the price of quality these days. Koulibaly is a proper beast in the back-line who will make our defensive third one to be feared. He’s also a leader which is exactly what we need right now.
2) Raphael Varane
Varane is an amazing centre back option for us. He has been on the radar of a few top clubs as rumours have emerged that he is looking for a new challenge. Manchester United’s board should be all over this and make it one of their top priorities. Varane is a tall, young, dynamic defender who is very good in the air. His game is a lot like Virgil Van Dijk’s, in the sense that his positioning is amazing and clears everything in the box. Apparently, last season when Mourinho wanted to sign Toby, the board wanted him to sign Varane instead. So if that’s true, it won’t take much time getting Woody on board.
3) Milan Skriniar
Skriniar is one of the best defenders in the Serie A, a league which contains the likes of Bonucci, Chiellini, Koulibaly, and Romagnoli, all at the age of just 24. Skriniar is particularly good at stopping a charging striker in their tracks. That’s something our current squad lacks. The likes of Young and Bailly get terrified when a forward makes a run towards them. This is something Skriniar will help us with. We might not get a leader in him, but we will absolutely get a solid defender in him. There are rumours that he has agreed a contract with Inter but he has a price.
4) Toby Alderweireld
The player we so fervently chased last season is back on the radar and this time possibly for free. Toby is Premier League proven defender and probably one of the best choices to partner Victor Lindelof. Victor is turning out to be an amazing defender and Toby will add a level of seniority and experience to our defence. He’s a no nonsense, top-drawer centre back. However, Toby’s burn rate is much higher than other defenders and we will soon be looking for a replacement in the next couple of years. A Matic like situation, if you will…
5) Alessio Romagnoli
While he shouldn’t be our main priority, Romagnoli has been AC Milan’s top man this season and would definitely be an upgrade on most, if not all, of our defenders. There’s just something about Italian defenders that make them so good. He’s just 24 and for all you know, he might be leading our lineup for the next decade. He’d also cost a lot less than the other defenders mentioned here, apart from Toby, maybe.
So that was my list of top defenders that Manchester United should sign in the coming transfer window. A few honourable mentions are:
Kostas Manolas
Samuel Umtiti
Harry Maguire
Nikola Milenkovic
Matthijs De Ligt
Ruben Dias
I’d like to close this article with a simple saying that ruled our club through the golden years, “Being good is not enough, we need to be the best”.
