Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing the same Manchester United transfer problem Jose Mourinho had – Dominic Booth

It has not been troublesome to pinpoint Manchester United’s Achilles heel this season.

Whether or not it’s being thumped 6-1 at dwelling by Tottenham Hotspur, drawing 3-3 in chaotic trend towards Everton, or the numerous occasions they’ve needed to battle again from a aim down, there are rightly query marks over the defence.

The quantity you spend within the switch market doesn’t essentially translate immediately into outcomes on the pitch, however the instances of the previous two seasons underneath Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are telling.

After forking out £125million on Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire earlier than the 2019/20 season, the Norwegian witnessed an instantaneous and marked enchancment in United’s defensive shows. Then, within the somewhat tougher summer season of 2020, United spent lower than £15million on one defensive participant — who is not actually very defensive in any respect — in Alex Telles.

Since then, their again line has slipped from being the ‘better of the remainder’ exterior Liverpool and Manchester Metropolis, to having nearly the identical document as relegation favourites Fulham, conceding 30 to the Cottagers’ 31 on this season’s Premier League.

Alan Shearer was right to identify this as essentially the most regarding space for enchancment at United, previous to watching Solskjaer’s workforce beat West Ham 1-0 within the FA Cup.

The Hammers confirmed a legal lack of ambition at Outdated Trafford, barely crossing the midway line and by no means actually testing Dean Henderson, although every time they did enterprise there was some panic within the United defence. Craig Dawson might have nicked it in common time for West Ham, as United’s vulnerability from set-pieces was laid naked.

“That could be a weak spot of theirs and so they don’t have any probability of being a profitable workforce except this improves and improves massively,” stated Shearer. “There’s simply far an excessive amount of area. As a ahead, you’d stay up for enjoying towards Manchester United as a result of you’re going to get possibilities as a result of they’re in every single place.

“Individuals pointing, not monitoring runners, individuals not selecting up within the field and other people not closing down crosses and balls going into the field with none stress on the ball to try to cease it and never working arduous sufficient to cease that cross, to shut that participant down. “

Maguire has been a lightning rod for criticism of late, with a lot of it (unfairly) centring on the inflated payment that United paid for him. Whether or not you assume Maguire is an £80million participant or not, it is at all times going to be troublesome for the United captain to actually ‘justify’ that payment, except he emulates what Virgil van Dijk did for Liverpool and conjures up a title win.

Maguire’s partnership with Victor Lindelof is a extra warranted speaking level, and the talk is whether or not Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe or a brand new centre-back signing can be more practical.

However the United skipper himself has seen enchancment within the again line of late, as he insisted after holding a 120-minute clear sheet towards West Ham.

“It’s large. I feel we have now six [clean sheets] in 10 video games, if I’m proper off the highest of my head,” stated Maguire. “Once we’ve conceded, we’ve conceded too many, once we concede one it appears to be two. It was three towards Everton. That’s not adequate for this membership.

”We had been disenchanted on the weekend, we felt we deserved the three factors however we couldn’t really feel sorry for ourselves. We knew we needed to come right here tonight and bounce again and get that momentum again on our facet prepared for Sunday.”

MEN Sport reported earlier this week that United had recognized central defence as a precedence for the approaching summer season switch window. The information will come as music to the ears of many followers who doubt the Maguire-Lindelof partnership, and who consider neither Bailly nor Tuanzebe might be relied upon.

Manchester United beat West Ham 1-0 within the FA Cup, due to Scott McTominay’s extra-time winner.

United sealed a spot within the cup quarter-finals with victory over David Moyes’ facet at Outdated Trafford, and now they journey to West Brom within the league on Sunday.

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United admire French centre-back duo Dayot Upamecano and Raphael Varane, although after spending a lot on their defence underneath Solskjaer already, they could be loathed to interrupt the financial institution this summer season.

Jose Mourinho was denied a central defensive signing in the summertime of 2018 when he had already spent greater than £60million on two — Bailly and Lindelof.

Will the identical guidelines apply to Solskjaer? Or will United take a extra reactive (and doubtless extra pragmatic) strategy and provides the United boss what’s so clearly wanted?

Backers of Mourinho might scream hypocrisy, however after Solskjaer missed out on Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, two of his favoured switch goal final summer season, maybe he is in a stronger place than his predecessor. The hope is that the pandemic shall be much less impactful on soccer golf equipment by June and July, and the time could also be ripe for spending.

“I used to be crying for a central defender,” Mourinho stated in September 2019, shortly after Maguire — considered one of his targets — had ultimately moved to United.

Now, Solskjaer could also be doing the identical, however the end result may very well be completely different.