Manchester United should revive their interest in Mats Hummels
According to The Sun, Mats Hummels might be tempted to exit the Allianz Arena as a result of manager Niko Kovac’s rotation policy which has limited his game time at Bayern Munich.
The 29-year-old has started only three games in the Bundesliga this season with the manager preferring the Jerome Boateng and Niklas Sule in the heart of the defence. Bayern also have Javi Martinez, who has started twice this season.
Although former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal was keen on signing him, the German rejected a move to Old Trafford back in 2016 (h/t Calciomercato).
But things are different now and the former World Cup winner is far from content at his current club.
The fact that he is unsettled at Bayern should prompt the Red Devils to revive their interest in Hummels. Jose Mourinho’s team has suffered time and again in the first eight games of the Premier League due to the lack of quality at the back.
United have shipped as many as 14 goals so far, a lot more than their rivals Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
To be honest, United’s defence has been in sixes and sevens in almost all the games this season. Starting from the 3-2 and 3-0 humiliations at the hands of Brighton and Spurs respectively, to the most recent 3-2 win over Newcastle, the Red Devils have struggled to keep pace with the opposition.
On certain occasions, the lack of composure and moments of indecisiveness at the back led to their downfall. At other times, the defenders either found themselves out of position or were undone by some quality football.
United need a world-class centre-back to plug the holes in their porous and vulnerable backline and they must make a move for Hummels.
Mats Hummels is one of the few complete centre-backs in world football at the moment. Standing at 6ft 4in, with a burly stature, Hummels is capable of dominating the opposition with his aerial ability and uses his strength to good effect.
Blessed with exceptional positional sense and situational awareness, he is rarely found out of position and has the ability to read the trajectory of passes to perfection. The German has a good technique for a defender which allows him to play comfortably with the ball at his feet. Furthermore, he is excellent with his ball distribution and can even play as a defensive midfielder.
A tactically versatile centre-back, Hummels is not only agile and vigilant enough to play in a high defensive line but is also calm and composed to play in a deep defensive line.
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Hence, he ticks all the boxes and the fact that he is good with his passing could help set up attacks from the back.
That said, the Red Devils shouldn’t leave any stone unturned in their efforts to bring the German to the club as he could be the perfect man to solve the club’s defensive woes.
