According to claims from Manchester Evening News, Man United and Chelsea have been handed a massive boost in their pursuit of Napoli right-back Elseid Hysaj, with reports claiming that the 25-year-old has expressed his desire to complete a move away from his current club this summer.
Both United and Chelsea were loosely linked with the Albanian international prior to the January transfer window and their interest could resurface this summer, with Hysaj fuelling speculation over his future at Napoli. (h/t Manchester Evening News)
The same report claims that Red Devils’ boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keen to bolster his backline ahead of the upcoming campaign, having endured a torrid time defensively this past season.
United shipped as many as 54 goals in the Premier League this season, which was the second-worst defensive record amongst the top-ten teams in the division after West Ham. They conceded only 28 goals in the 2017-18 campaign and the difference is telling, meaning that defensive reinforcements should be at the top of United’s priority list for the summer window.
The likes of Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly and Phil Jones all struggled to varying degrees in central defence, with Smalling and Lindelof perhaps being the best of a bad bunch at the back. The full-backs didn’t do their reputation any good either, with Ashley Young making himself look like a glaring liability, both in terms of attack and defence.
United are also set to lose the services of their designated club-captain Antonio Valencia on a free transfer this summer, which further epitomises the need for bringing in a new right-back to add depth and solidity to the backline.
They splashed the cash on Diogo Dalot last summer but he is still young and very much in the developmental stage of his career, whilst Matteo Darmian is down the pecking order and will be expected to head for the exit door sooner or later.
To put things into perspective, it is a no-brainer that United cannot continue to rely on 33-year-old Ashley Young for much longer if they are to rub shoulders with the very best and someone like Elseid Hysaj could be a wonderful long-term investment.
The 25-year-old Albanian has carved out a massive reputation for himself as one of the best right-backs in the Serie A and United have every reason to look at him as an instant upgrade on Young.
Hysaj rose to prominence in Serie B with Empoli under the guidance of present Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri. He followed Sarri from Empoli to Napoli back in 2015 on the back of a successful first season in the Italian top-flight and he hasn’t looked back since then, going from strength to strength and progressing by leaps and bounds over the course of the last two or three seasons.
The 25-year-old, who represented Albania at Euro 2016, hasn’t scored in 170 appearances for Napoli but he is noted for his incredible defensive prowess. Hysaj doesn’t fall in the bracket of a flying modern-day full-back but there are few better than him when it comes to reading the game at the back and responding to the transitions in play.
Hysaj has earned plaudits for his calmness and composure in possession, good range of passing, tactical maturity and ability to cut out attacks with crucial tackles and interceptions. He is more than capable of contributing to the attack with clever overlapping runs, although he doesn’t tend to pick up too many goals or assists to show for his efforts.
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United need address their defensive problems to challenge for silverware in the Premier League next term and the acquisition of Elseid Hysaj could mark the ideal beginning to the summer for the Red Devils, as Solskjaer aims to bring back the glory days to Old Trafford.