Assessing Man Utd's centre-back options in the summer transfer window

Manchester United are searching for a new centre-back in 2021 to partner with club captain Harry Maguire for the long-term and take the developing squad onto the next level.

Victor Lindelof will remain a good squad player to have as a back-up, but the Swede has consistently shown that he lacks the top class level in key areas needed to be an elite Premier League defender.

Lindelof is intelligent and aware, but he lacks the pace, strength and dominant presence to be the complementary partner for Maguire that United need.

Refreshingly, the players that the club is chasing and being most frequently lined to all fit similar criteria, highlighting a targeted approach to address the specific weaknesses in the back-line. That in itself is a major step forward from the rather scattergraph recruitment policy that frustratingly defined the first six years after Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

United identified Villarreal and Spain star Pau Torres as a major target towards the end of 2020. There was also interest in Dayot Upamecano at that time, but it quickly cooled once it became apparent he was going to join Bayern Munich, which has since been confirmed.

Jules Kounde at Sevilla effectively replaced Upamecano alongside Torres as one of United’s two preferred targets, although increasing uncertainty surrounding Raphael Varane’s future at Real Madrid has created a potential opportunity there. Wesley Fofana has also more recently been linked with United amid suggestions they are keeping tabs on him at Leicester.

Wesley Fofana

At just 20, Fofana is younger than the other centre-backs that have been on United’s radar. That has upside and downside in that he offers a longer term investment, but also is a more raw and unpolished prospect. He has been massively impressive for Leicester given his age, but what United want is to go up another steep step again and it is slightly more of a gamble.

In terms of style, Fofana is noted for both his heading ability, with a strong percentage of aerial battles won during his final season in France, and also his anticipation that allows him to step in front of attacking players to make interceptions.

That could allow United to play further up the pitch and defend more on the front foot, which has been a criticism of the Maguire-Lindelof partnership up to this point.

A major drawback is potential price. Fofana is under contract at Leicester until 2025 and United know full well that the Foxes are tough negotiators and won’t be pushed around. Demanding £80m, more than double what they paid for him and matching the Maguire sale, wouldn’t be surprising.

Raphael Varane

Varane is easily one of the best centre-backs of the 2010s, a decade which saw him win four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and the World Cup with France. He even had a genuine chance of winning the Ballon d’Or in 2018 as the only player that won both the Champions League and World Cup in that year, and probably should have finished higher in the final voting.

Varane is a shorter-term option. But despite his vast array of career achievements, the Frenchman will still only be 28 at the start of next season. It means he should at least have a four-year contract in his legs before his career might start winding down.

United would be taking less of a gamble with Varane because he has been there and done it. His contract situation at Real Madrid, which looks to be at a point where he doesn’t intend to extend beyond 2022, also presents a rare opportunity to sign a world class player at a not ridiculous price.

The recent reports on Varane have quoted £60m, which is £20m less than United paid for Maguire when he was only two years younger. It has also been suggested that Old Trafford officials would try and negotiate a figure lower than that still.

His style would complement Maguire’s well and he has the pace that both Lindelof and Maguire lack. That gives United some extra insurance at the back which hasn’t been there.

Pau Torres

Torres was the player that United staff first settled on last year as an ideal centre-back target. His rapid rise has been impressive, going from a loan spell at Malaga in Spain’s second division to gain experience in 2018/19 to a starter for the national team by the autumn of 2020.

The 24-year-old came through the youth ranks at Villarreal and 2020/21 is only his second season of top flight football, which might be enough to label him something of a late bloomer.

Torres fits the profile of a modern centre-back. He has good speed for his imposing physical stature and his awareness and anticipation again makes him similar to other targets on this list. What is perhaps most striking is his ability as a ball carrier, which means that he can move into midfield in possession and help start attacks for his own team, as well as repel them from the opponents.

Torres could potentially be the most affordable of the four options. His release clause sits around the £52m - £56m mark and it has been rumoured that Villarreal could even sell for as low as £43m in the right circumstances, just more than half what United paid for Maguire.

There is perhaps a reason for that. Having only played top flight football for two years, he lacks experience for his age, is yet to play in the Champions League and has never won a trophy. They aren’t deal-breakers but it is still something to consider and weigh up.

Jules Kounde

Where Torres lacks some top level experience, Kounde has it and is also younger. The 22-year-old was playing regularly for Bordeaux in Ligue 1 in 2018 and has taken his game to the next level with Sevilla since 2019, winning the Europa League and reaching the Champions League knockouts.

With that in mind, Kounde perhaps offers the best balance between long-term potential to develop, age and experience of any of the most likely targets.

The Frenchman has a release clause thought to be around £68m, which is rumoured to be more than United are willing to pay. His current contract also runs until 2024 and so there is no immediate pressure on Sevilla to sell, as there would be with Real Madrid and Varane, for example.

Style-wise, Kounde is a more conservative type of defender. He is a reader of the game and will try to force attackers into mistakes through his positioning before he has to commit to a tackle. That could allow Maguire to be the aggressor in the partnership.

The important thing is balance, which is where Maguire and Lindelof currently suffer because their respective strengths don’t mask the other’s weaknesses and vice versa.

There is likely to have to be some compromise in United’s search. All four centre-back options are similar in style and it will be the best or most appropriate deal that determine which way they go.

Fofana is too expensive, especially in this financial climate, and is probably just a bit too young at this stage as well. Varane, while certainly not too old, might be considered not young enough.

Negotiating a lower fee for Kounde would appear to be the best solution, but that doesn’t seem particularly feasible and it may therefore be that Torres is the one who ticks enough of the boxes at a more affordable price without a noticeable concession on quality.

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