For the best part of two seasons Manchester United have struggled to field a consistent backline due to injuries. The switch from 4-2-3-1 to the 3-4-2-1 under Ruben Amorim has put even more pressure on the defence as it allows a third central defender to start.
August saw Manchester United play a standoff with Everton for the duration of the summer transfer window as the clubs disagreed on the valuation of Jarrad Branthwaite.
Erik ten Hag wanted to bolster the defence after a turbulent season due to injured absentees. However, the Toffees valued the 22-year-old at around £70m, and United offered an initial £35m, which was rejected.
United surprisingly shifted their strategy elsewhere and scooped up Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs De Ligt from Bayern Munich for a combined fee of £60m.
But with the imminent departure of two of United’s current central defenders could negotiations open between United and Everton again this summer? Or has the emergence of United’s youngsters filled that void?
Heaven has impressed since his debut
Heaven was snatched up in January from Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, making his debut as a substitute in the FA cup against Fulham.
The 18-year-old looked like an experienced professional after his second half cameo against former suitors Arsenal which led to two consecutive starts against Real Sociedad and Leicester.
Quick, agile and powerful, with the ability to deal with trouble slickly. Heaven has made an impeccable first appearance early on in his career at Old Trafford.
Yoro shows glimpses of living up to price tag
Yoro rarely plays a full 90. However, it’s easy to forget he is still only 19. The French wonderkid was signed from Lille for £50m in the summer despite interest from Real Madrid.
Yoro started against Southampton in mid-January and struggled against the skills and trickery of the saints forward line but has built on that poor performance, improved and has showed glimpses and traits of a future leader. The performance against Arsenal was his best in a red shirt so far.
Injury woes
Lissandro Martinez established himself as the first name on the team sheet in winter partly due to ferocious defensive displays, an eye for a goal, as we saw at Anfield, and the ability to pick out an offensive pass, as we saw in the dying moments of the Manchester derby, where he teed up Amad for the winner.
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But his season ended abruptly with a torn ACL, and he is expected to miss the start of next season.
Maguire, Yoro, Heaven, and Johnny Evans are injured, with Heaven being stretchered off against Leicester. However, it’s been reported in the last few days that Heaven is making a “good recovery,” Maguire has returned to grass training this week, and Yoro is hopefully available to face Nottingham Forest.
Summer Departures
Although Maguire had been involved with speculation regarding a transfer away from Old Trafford when Ten Hag was in charge, the 32-year-old has resurrected his career at United with promising performances under Amorim. It’s likely that the former captain will stay.
Johnny Evans nears the final months of his contract and will likely leave alongside Swedish defender Victor Lindelöf who also has months remaining on his contract. Meaning there could be a possibility United could look at summer targets.
Generally speaking, though Evans and Lindelöf haven’t been regulars for quite some time with Yoro and Heaven breaking through, it wouldn’t be the best decision to limit their game time with the arrival of another young centre-back.
Therefore, United’s 2024 saga of chasing Branthwaite may have instead been solved by the fantastic performances of Yoro and Heaven in the last few months.
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