Five young centre-backs Manchester United could move for next month

Never has a game shed more light on Manchester United’s defensive woes as the 2-2 draw with Southampton at the weekend, with the Red Devils lining up with a back three owing to an injury crisis. 

Phil Jones was the only defender among said trio, with Scott McTominay and Nemanja Matic both preferred over Marcos Rojo owing to a lack of fitness from the Argentine. Chris Smalling, Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof were all sidelined, but there is no secret to the fact that none of the options at Jose Mourinho’s disposal are well thought of by the manager. 

Desperate for defensive reinforcements, and justifiably so, the club will surely look to make a long overdue move for a centre-back (or two) next month, and while they still desperately need an experienced and reliable head back there, reports suggest that they may well be looking to the future. 

We take a look at five young options that have either been linked or should be on the radar of the falling giants of English football as they look to regain their footing in the New Year.  

Milan Skriniar (Inter) 

If money was no object in the matter, United would struggle to find a better young centre-back in Europe right now than Skriniar, who, at just 23, has the potential to become a truly world class defender. His combination of strength and composure is exactly what United are lacking at present, in truth struggling for either one or the other. 

If the Slovakia international has one area of weakness defensively it is perhaps in the air, having lost more duels than he has won this season, but his timing in the tackle and calmness in possession would be invaluable traits. The Inter star has won the third most tackles in the Champions League this season (20) and most of any centre-back by a distance, while a pass accuracy of 93.2 per cent is enough to rank fourth in Serie A. 

Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax) 

At just 19 the sky is the limit for Ajax academy graduate De Ligt, whose frame and confidence belie his tender years. He’s already on the radar of the world’s biggest clubs, most notably Barcelona, and will command a huge fee when he does leave his homeland, which seems increasingly likely to be sooner rather than later. 

Already the established centre-back partner to Virgil van Dijk for the Netherlands, the teenager’s ability to play out from the back effortlessly and pose a threat in the opposition box is not dissimilar to his compatriot in that sense. He reads the game well, meaning he rarely dives into tackles, and has completed 92.1 per cent of his passes in the Eredivisie this season, earning a WhoScored.com rating of 7.57. 

Eder Militao (Porto) 

Having raided the Portuguese league for the likes of Victor Lindelof and Diego Dalot in recent transfer windows, Mourinho’s knowledge of the top-flight in his homeland has played a part in dealings at Old Trafford in the past, so it’s little surprise the Red Devils are reportedly keeping tabs on Militao. The 20-year-old only arrived in Liga NOS in the summer but has already made a big impression and may not stick around too long. 

Having played the entirety of the first half of the Brasileirao season as a right-back for Sao Paulo, the youngster has adapted to play at the heart of the Porto defence with consummate ease. His versatility would be a huge asset to a team lacking in the right-back department too, but while he is stronger in the air than the two previous targets assessed, he’s a little less assured with the ball at his feet by comparison. 

Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) 

Much like Militao, the reports suggesting that United are keeping a close eye on Viola defender Milenkovic may have something to do with his ability to play at both right and centre-back. His tall and lean build certainly looks more at home in his favoured position in the middle of a back four, where he operates for Serbia, but Fiorentina have utilised the 21-year-old’s skillset at full-back this season. 

That’s certainly had a bearing on his statistics, tasked with playing riskier passes than he might from centre-back, but nevertheless a drop off in accuracy of almost ten per cent to just 74.7 in the league this term may be a concern. That said, he completed 89.8 per cent of his passes at the World Cup, starting all three of Serbia’s group stage games, and like De Ligt his height is a weapon at both ends, scoring twice in Serie A this season. 

Dan-Axel Zagadou (Borussia Dortmund) 

Like Milenkovic, Frenchman Zagadou is an extremely tall defender that last season looked a little out of place, from a viewing perspective at least, at left-back. The 19-year-old arrived at Dortmund from PSG in the summer of last year on a free transfer and was immediately required to fill in for the injured Marcel Schmelzer, eventually bowing somewhat to the physical demands of a modern day full-back and losing his place in the side. 

When the Bundesliga outfit signed Abdou Diallo in the summer, following on from the arrival of Manuel Akanji in January, the teenager’s prospects of a run in his favoured centre-back position seemed slim. However, it’s Diallo that has been asked to play out on the left at times this season, while Zagadou has started 12 times over the league and Champions League, impressing due to his proactive nature in terms of playing out from the back. His league pass accuracy of 87.6 per cent jumps to 93.4 in Europe, but it’s an eye catching 1.1 dribbles per game in Germany’s top-flight that is particularly noteworthy, displaying the sort of ability on the ball of - dare I say it - a young Rio Ferdinand.