Should Manchester United keep, loan, or sell Victor Lindelof?

Victor Lindelof has recently received much praise for his performances, stepping in for the injured pair of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez.

So with Victor Lindelof’s current deal expiring in 2024, should Manchester United keep, loan or, sell him in the summer?

Lindelof signed for United in the summer of 2017 for a fee of around £30 million from Benfica, and since then has featured over 200 times for the club.

Read More: Aaron Wan-Bissaka told he is not the best at 1v1s by former Manchester United defender

The central defender has been a steady performer for United over the years, especially under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who started him alongside club captain Harry Maguire for the majority of his tenure and the pair had a decent record under the Norwegian coach.

In the 2021 summer transfer window, just a few months before Solskjaer was sacked, United signed Raphael Varane from Real Madrid, and since then Lindelof has been relegated to the position of backup option. However, due to Varane’s injury problems, Lindelof was subsequently given a decent amount of game time in a season which would go down as one of United’s worst in the Premier League era.

Onto this season, and the signing of Lisandro Martinez combined with new manager Erik ten Hag opting to play Luke Shaw at left centre-back as his cover has resulted in limited opportunities for Lindelof to get minutes.

Ten Hag prefers to have a left-footed left centre-back due to the angles it opens up when playing out in the first phase, limiting opportunities for Lindelof even further with Varane and Maguire ahead of him in the right centre-back role as it seemed.

But no matter what the situation is, Lindelof has always been ready to step in when called upon and perform to a good level, never complaining about being on the bench, continuing to work hard on the training ground and showing great patience.

Lindelof was finally given an opportunity due to the injuries United have suffered recently and has slotted in pretty seamlessly, especially alongside Luke Shaw. So, how can keeping Lindelof at the club benefit United?

Whilst Lindelof might not be the most physically gifted centre-half, and at times can be caught out aerially or in physical duels, he’s still an intelligent defender and reads the game well – which to an extent makes up for his defensive liabilities.

The Swedish international is incredibly calm and composed on the ball and likes to carry the ball forward when he can, picking out teammates in between the lines with a good range of passing, hence why he’s nicknamed ‘The Iceman’.

He’s also quite versatile, having played as a right-back and defensive midfielder before, demonstrating his technical security with managers trusting him to play out of position if needed. This technical security would be really useful for Erik ten Hag down the line especially if United don’t sign another right centre-back this summer.

Now, Lindelof will probably never be a long-term starter for Manchester United, but he’s still a very useful player to have around and a great backup, showing his quality recently in the FA Cup semi-final. He scored a brilliant winning penalty in the FA Cup semi-final shootout, as well as putting in a solid defensive performance that included a goal-line clearance during United’s 1-0 win over Aston Villa.

He’s a great character to have around in the dressing room and it’s always good to have his type of player in the squad – for example, Nacho Fernandez at Real Madrid, who has always been a squad player but whenever he’s had to step in he’s done his job really well.

Lindelof can emulate Fernandez in this sense and adopt this role under Erik ten Hag.

Lindelof’s recent form indicates that United should KEEP the 28-year-old as a solid backup at least until his contract runs down in June 2024, and he’ll be a very useful player for United in the next year or beyond if he decides to stay in the summer.