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When Manchester United signed Nemanja Matic from Chelsea last summer for £36 million, it raised a lot of eyebrows as to why Chelsea would sell such a quality player to their rivals.
It turned out to be a terrible decision as Chelsea struggled throughout the campaign, with new signing Bakayoko failing to fill Matic's role, and Chelsea ended up finishing 6th, while United finished 2nd and had the second best defense in the league, conceding just 28 goals.
This season though, Matic has showed signs of fatigue, and has slowed down significantly. Having played an important role last season, he got no rest, and it has affected United's performances this season. It was seen in the Bournemouth game, when Fraser and Brooks got past him with ease.
Hence, to make sure United avoid such defensive frailties in future, lets take a look at 3 players who could replace the big Serbian.
#3 Wilfred Ndidi
The Nigerian international who moved to Leicester in January 2017 for a fee of £15.8 million from Genk, has been a defensive stalwart for Leicester ever since the sale of Kante to Chelsea. He has been an ever present figure for The Foxes since his arrival.
He sometimes rushes into tackles which leave the defense exposed, and also has disciplinary problems, with 9 yellow cards, and getting sent off twice in his 72 appearances for Leicester so far.
But given that he is only 21, he has huge potential to be a great defensive midfielder for any team with problems in their defensive midfield position.
Valued at £31.5 million by transfermarkt, it would be a steal for Mourinho's team who have no depth in the defensive midfield position, with Fellaini being the only other option for Mourinho.
#2 Lucas Tousart
The 21-year old Olympique Lyonnais midfielder has been phenomenal for the French outfit since last season, and is only getting better for Bruno Genesio's men. Having signed for Lyon from Valenciennes for a fee of £2.34 million, it is proving to be a bargain.
He was integral to Lyon's push for the Champions League positions last season, and with him being just 21, he has a great future ahead if he continues in this form. Valued at £22.5 million, he could hold the position at Manchester United for the next decade.
#1 Abdoulaye Doucoure
Barely known by anyone at the start of last season, Doucoure has made a name for himself in the Premier League with his performances for Watford last season. Moving to Watford from Stade Rennais in 2016, he was loaned out to Granada in Spain, but was used extensively last season.
He was also among the goals for Watford, with 7 goals, highest for the team, but his defensive work cannot be overlooked either, with 79 tackles, 54 interceptions along with 345 recoveries, which is a league high.
He wins the ball back in a number of ways, which owes to him having high recovery, combined with tactical intelligence. He will surely be a worthy addition to the out of depth Manchester United squad.
Albeit being comparatively older than the previously mentioned players, at 25, he is surely bound to be an upgrade on a slowing down Nemanja Matic, shoring up United's midfield and defensive problems.
