Harry Maguire
Attacks win you matches, defence wins you titles – one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s most important and hard-hitting quotes. His Manchester United teams of the 1990s and 2000s were title-winning machines. Everyone remembers Ferguson’s United as a team that played an attractive and flamboyant style of football that usually blew teams away.
But what people tend to forget that his world-class attackers had all the freedom in the world because of the assurance the defenders provided. Right from Steve Bruce and Gary Pallister in the early 1990s to Jaap Stam in that treble-winning season of 1999, to the legendary duo of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in the 2000s; United always have had world-class centre-backs to hold their fort.
But the story hasn’t been the same since Sir Alex retired in 2013. United have been statistically been the best defensive side over the past three seasons but that is mostly down to the work of the best goalkeeper in the world and not the defenders in front of him. But David De Gea can only do so much. In the recent defeats against Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur, the Red Devils conceded 6 goals due to silly mistakes by the central defenders.
Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly were responsible for the three goals at Amex Stadium. After the humiliation, they were replaced by Chris Smalling and Phil Jones but both of them were at fault for the three goals United conceded against Spurs.
Despite going through three managerial changes in six years, Manchester United haven’t invested in a quality centre-back yet. Both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand left the club in 2014 and that’s a gigantic hole United are yet to fill.
Louis van Gaal brought in Marcos Rojo and Mourinho got Bailly in his first summer and Lindelof in the next. Out of these three, only Bailly has looked like a Manchester United defender. But even the Ivory Coast international has struggled for form this season.
An earlier report from The Sun had suggested that due to a lack of quality at the heart of the defence, Mourinho wanted to sign Harry Maguire from Leicester City. The England international, who is valued at £50million, had a brilliant World Cup in Russia and was probably the most consistent player in the tournament for the Three Lions.
Even in the 2017/18 season, he was the anchor that prevented Leicester City’s ship from sinking. He made 48 interceptions, 176 clearances and successfully completed 46 tackles. To add to this, Maguire is also good with the ball at his feet. Furthermore, he is not afraid to carry the ball from the defence into the midfield.
His passing accuracy from the previous term stands at a modest 78% but that’s because he doesn’t always go for the simple sideways passes. Instead, he often steps into the midfield and tries to play the ball between the lines for his attackers.
United didn’t sign any centre-back this summer and that decision has already begun to backfire. Now, Mourinho will face a difficult four months with the same players at his disposal. But once the transfer window opens in January, United should try and sign Maguire at all cost.
