Tariq Lamptey of Brighton and Hove Albion is linked with a transfer to Tottenham Hotspur. (GETTY Images)
According to Mundo Deportivo (h/t Brighton and Hove Independent), Engand legend Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to sign Brighton & Hove Albion’s young full-back Tariq Lamptey. He has been impressed by Lamptey’s season at Brighton and wants United to sign him to strengthen their squad.
United would however face competition from Atletico Madrid, as Diego Simeone is keeping track of the 20-year-old’s progression in the Premier League. (h/t Brighton and Hove Independent)
Manchester United have an abundance of defenders except in the right-back position. While the Red Devils purchased Porto’s Alex Telles to add to the left-back position that already had Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams, the 20-time English top-division champions lack such quality on the other flank of their defence.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is United’s only trusted right-back. His current alternatives Diogo Dalot and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are not trusted by Solskjaer. The former made just one league start last season. The latter has made just 16 league appearances in his 4 years at the club, spending two of those four years on loan.
United would want to tackle the congested fixture list without compromising on quality. A player like Tariq Lamptey would add depth and dynamic to United’s backline. Wan-Bissaka may be one of the best defensive right-backs at the moment, but he has never been an attacking full-back.
Wan-Bissaka and Fosu-Mensah have scored 1 goal between themselves in a combined 148 Premier League matches. Dalot has never been trusted to be able to contribute consistently and made just two league assists in two years.
Compared to this, Lamptey’s impressive displays for Brighton, especially going forward, would have surely caught the eyes of managers around England and abroad. The young English full-back already has one goal and 4 assists in his 16 Premier League matches for the Seagulls.
United may still prefer starting Wan-Bissaka, but the options and depth that the latter offers will surely put Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at ease. On top of it, Lamptey is capable of shouldering some of the team’s creative burden down the right-hand side.
A comparison between his heat map and Wan Bissaka’s heat map shows how the Brighton full-back could even challenge the latter to a starting XI spot because of the attacking dynamism he brings.
Rooney’s comments urging Solskjaer to pursue Lamptey make a lot of sense. United lack depth down the right-hand side and a quality attacking full-back would also offer something that Wan-Bissaka struggles to. Lamptey’s age makes him a more desirable signing, but also raises a hurdle.
At just 20 years of age, Lamptey will be a long-term solution for United at right-back alongside Wan-Bissaka. If United make an effort to sign him, it would be shrewd decision-making on their part.