Having watched him in action on Sunday, Manchester United have reportedly scouted a 20-year-old defender as a potential target following his impressive performances.
Manchester United’s summer activity has seemingly stalled in recent weeks, with negotiations for Bryan Mbeumo taking far longer than originally expected.
Nonetheless, Ruben Amorim’s side are still aiming to improve a plethora of areas in their squad ahead of the new Premier League campaign.
The Red Devils finished 15th last season with no silverware, making it arguably their worst season in recent history, which called for an obvious time for change.
With attacking signings a priority, defensive reinforcements have been put on the back burner. However, new reports suggest that SK Brann’s Eivind Helland has emerged as a potential target for the Red Devils.
Helland catches the eye
Having been promoted to Brann’s first team in 2023, Helland has impressed immensely and has recently even caught the eye of United, according to reports from Norway.
This report states that the Manchester club sent a scout to watch the centre-back in action, and were impressed by his performance on Sunday.
Brann’s “great talent” played the full 90 minutes as his side secured a 3-1 win, before then being asked after the match about the interest from United.
Helland stated that he was unaware of any interest, saying, “I haven’t thought much about it (Manchester United). That’s just the way it is. That’s how the football world is.”
The Norwegian defender continued by stating, “I’m very calm about it. I feel very comfortable here, and my plan is to stay here. No, I’m going to play really well with Brann.”
Do United need defensive reinforcement?
Despite a disappointing campaign, a few of United’s defenders were seen as silver linings during a time where there wasn’t much to write home about.
Ayden Heaven emerged as a top talent, Harry Maguire and Mathijs de Ligt rekindled their old selves, whilst Leny Yoro lived up to his hype.
This being said, United could still benefit from some astute defensive depth, as it was often the case last season that injuries left Amorim’s side very short of cover at the back.
Although rumours of Helland are very fresh, it will be interesting to see what approach the Red Devils take regarding defensive depth this summer, with new forwards being a clear priority.
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