Manchester United‘s summer business continues to be a source of concern for manager Jose Mourinho and the club hierarchy, as they look to bolster a squad that finished second in the Premier League last season but a whopping 19 points behind champions Manchester City.
Among the problem areas identified has been the heart of defence. Mourinho has bought one centre-back in each summer he’s been at the club – Eric Bailly in 2016 and Victor Lindelof last year. However, there are still questions regarding both players, as well as the senior figures he inherited – Marcos Rojo, Chris Smalling, and Phil Jones.
United have thus been linked with a host of different options to reinforce the back-line, and here we run the rule over the five most prominent names in the rumour mill.
Harry Maguire
The Leicester City man is both the traditional English defender – no-nonsense, strong in the air and in the tackle – and the prototypical modern centre-back, good with the ball at his feet, a solid distributor, and a potent attacking threat, which he showed at the World Cup.
His per-game stats from the Premier League show why he’s being linked with a move to United. Last season, he won 62 per cent of his duels, best of anyone on this list. He won more tackles per 90 minutes in the league than anyone bar Yerry Mina – who only played two league games for Barcelona.
Maguire also beats out everyone (again, bar Mina in his two-game cameo) for successful take-ons (85 per cent) and his key passes per 90 statistic (0.36) is commendable as well.
Fit for United: 9/10
Is Harry Maguire United-bound?
Toby Alderweireld
Alderweireld is the other defender who’s been heavily linked with United, and it’s likely that only Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy’s hardball negotiation tactics kept a move for the Belgian from being sealed before the World Cup. Like Maguire, Alderweireld is tough-nosed defender who is also comfortable joining the attack, and provides a goal threat both in the air and with a fierce shot.
He’s good on the ball – he won 83 per cent of his take-ons and had a pass accuracy of 86 per ecnt last season, and he has a penchant for playing long, raking balls over the top which players like Romelu Lukaku will love. However, he wins fewer aerial duels than anyone else on this list – a shockingly low 34 per cente last season – which, under Mourinho, will be a problem.
Fit for United: 5/10
Is Alderweireld too big a risk for Mourinho?
Leonardo Bonucci
While Bonucci was at Juventus and playing alongside Giorgio Chiellini, he seemed like the classical Italian defender. But his time at Milan revealed a flaw. He styles himself after Franz Beckenbauer, with a love for bringing the ball out and joining attacks – something he’s quite capable of. But his attacking forays left the Milan defence exposed too often for a defensive manager’s liking.
Defensively, then, Bonucci can be a weakness unless there’s cover for him. He only won 53 per cent of his aerial duels in the league last season, lower than anyone else on this list apart from Alderweireld, and his tackles won per 90 number, 0.66, is far lower than the rest.
Does his attacking ability – an 85 per cent passing accuracy, 0.5 key passes per 90 minutes, and a goals scored mark (0.07) that’s the best of this class – make up for that? In Mourinho’s book, probably not.
Fit for United: 4/10
Bonucci has a reputation as one of the world’s best defenders – but the numbers say otherwise.
Jerome Boateng
Boateng is much like Bonucci and Alderweireld in that his reputation is based on his distribution and attacking ability as much as defending – if not more so. He’s a stylish centre-back who’s good on the ball, but can get caught out defensively.
The numbers bear that out – he had more defensive errors and errors leading to goal per 90 minutes last season than any of these five (0.07 for both), and his tackling number is lower than Maguire’s (0.99 to 1.23). He does have more key passes than anyone – 0.55 per 90 – and an 87% pass accuracy, but the defensive numbers will give Mourinho pause.
Fit for United: 5/10
Boateng has lost his sheen over the last couple of years through injury and a dip in form.
Yerry Mina
Being a Barcelona target says much about Yerry Mina – they thought he’d fit the mould as a passing centre-back who could challenge Gerard Pique and Samuel Umtiti. Along with that, he also fits the traditional stylings of a defender, especially for England – almost nothing gets past him in the air, and he’s a solid tackler.
Statistically, Mina’s small sample size goes against him – he only played two league games for Barcelona and even his World Cup numbers are based on four appearances. The most remarkable aspect of those four appearances was that he scored three goals, while his tackles per game (1.3), interceptions (1) and passing accuracy (90 per cent) compare favourably to everyone else.
The question is whether Mourinho thinks it’s worth taking a calculated gamble On Mina, when his defence is seemingly crying out for experience and a leader.
Fit for United: 7/10
Mina is a rising defensive star.
