Manchester United are reportedly looking to revamp their defence at the end of the season and have identified a Bundesliga giant as one of their targets…
Manchester United’s search for a new centre-back
According to ESPN, the Red Devils have placed Bayern Munich centre-back Matthijs de Ligt as one of three players they could look to sign in the summer.
The report claims that Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite and Nice’s Jean-Claire Todibo are also on the list as the club eyes up a possible move for one, or multiple, of them.
Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans are both out of contract at the end of the season and the outlet reports that they would be open to cashing in on Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof if ‘significant’ offers come in for them.
Erik ten Hag could secure a big upgrade on Maguire as he eyes a swoop to sign de Ligt from Bayern ahead of the 2023/24 campaign to bolster his defence.
Maguire’s form over the past 365 days
The England international has not been able to establish himself as a regular starter over a prolonged period of time at United since the start of last season.
He only started eight matches in the Premier League throughout the 2022/23 campaign and is currently on nine starts in the top-flight this term.
|
23/24 Premier League |
Harry Maguire (via Sofascore) |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
11 |
|
Pass accuracy |
83% |
|
Tackles per game |
0.9 |
|
Interceptions per game |
1.1 |
|
Ground duel success rate |
43% |
Over the last 365 days, Maguire has averaged 2.32 tackles and interceptions combined and 3.96 aerial battles won per 90 respectively for the club.
The right-footed machine is a stopper, first and foremost, but does also rank within the top 35% of centre-backs in the Men’s Top Five Leagues and European competitions for progressive passes (3.80) per 90 in that time, albeit that comes with a pass success rate of 83.3% and that places him in the bottom 35% of his positional peers.
The stats that show why de Ligt could be an upgrade on Maguire
Ten Hag could sign an upgrade on Maguire in a swoop to snap up de Ligt, who is a right-footed stopper – like the English titan – with more quality in possession.
The £265k-per-week colossus has averaged 1.98 tackles and interceptions combined and 3.48 aerial battles won per 90 respectively over the last 365 days of action for Bayern.
This suggests that the Netherlands international, who has won 58% of his ground duels in the Bundesliga this season, offers a similar level of quality to Maguire when it comes to cutting out opposition attacks and dominating forwards in the air.
De Ligt, who was once hailed by the late Mino Raiola as an “oil tanker” who cannot be stopped, would be an upgrade on the former Leicester when it comes to progressing the play with the ball, though.
The 24-year-old titan has averaged an impressive 5.55 progressive passes per 90 and ranks within the top 8% of his positional peers across the Men’s Big Five Leagues and European competitions over the last 365 days.
He also ranks within the top 8% for pass success rate at 91.3% for the German champions, which shows that the talented enforcer is incredibly efficient in possession.
Therefore, de Ligt could offer far more than Maguire on the ball as he is able to progress play with his passes more frequently despite enjoying a significantly better success rate.
This could improve United’s build-up play by allowing them to play out from the back more effectively to find the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount, among others, in dangerous positions rather than losing the ball through poor passing.