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There are no two ways about it - Manchester United need someone to step up and cement the right-back position as their own in time for next season's EPL campaign.
Italian, Matteo Darmian will surely be shipped back to Serie A following two seasons of complete obscurity. Timothy Fosu-Mensah, following two unsuccessful loan stints at Crystal Palace and Fulham, increasingly seems like he isn't going to make the grade in the famed red shirt. Ethan Laird is a promising kid from the academy but is not yet ready for the responsibility that comes with starting week-in-week-out for a club desperate to return to former glories. Antonio Valencia has already departed Manchester and, despite the enterprise shown, Ashley Young is surely not good enough to spend another year as club captain in the right back position (or so you'd think).
The club has been linked with numerous replacements already this summer, and we have selected the five most likely candidates to don the number two jersey at Old Trafford in time for next season's big kick-off against Chelsea on August 11th.
Thomas Meunier, PSG
Thomas Meunier is actually a Manchester United fan and has been spotted taking in the spectacle at the theatre of dreams (Old Trafford) on a couple of occasions. The aggressive full-back, who is adept at both the attacking and defensive aspects of the game, averaged 2 successful tackles per game in Ligue 1 last season (better than both Dalot and Young). He also weighed in with more goals and assists in the league than both players, too (3 goals and 3 assists... all be it against slightly weaker opposition).
Though no spring-chicken and unlikely to improve at twenty-eight-years-old, the Belgian right-back has a wealth of experience at the highest levels of both European and International football and, of all the players listed, would surely be the best for young Diogo Dalot to learn from. We feel he would be the perfect fit for United's right side in the short term and that he wouldn't disrupt the young Portuguese player's progress in the long term.
Meunier, who is entering the final year of his contract at PSG, is available for a cut-price fee of £25 million (should he decide not to extend his current deal), and we feel he is the best value on the market in the short-term. However, with reports of United's interest in the player having gone cold in the tabloids of late, we feel the versatile Belgian is probably a backup option for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer if he fails to get his principal target over the line, and that this deal is looking less and less likely.
Ashley Young, Manchester United
The Manchester United veteran is always prepared to put a shift in and he isn't one to duck responsibility. However, as 100% of the club's fans would tell you, he simply isn't good enough to line-up as a starter again for another season. His tackling success rate is at just 62%, while he made less than half the amount of tackles(52) and interceptions(55) as Crystal Palace's Aaron Wan Bissaka last season.
There is a chance that working under Solskjaer could reignite the former Aston Villa man, but it's a very slim chance at best. Young is a converted winger and lacks the necessary defensive attributes to improve at this stage of his career. We feel he would be fine as back-up and that his experience and knowledge of the club should be enough to see him feature in a few UEFA cup matches
Ashley Young needed replacing last season yet still United persisted with him at right-back, so we wouldn't be surprised to hear that the board would like to limit expenditure by sticking with him for another season... we are just not sure the fans will allow it this time around. The fans have been highly vocal on social media about the club's need for defensive reinforcements and it's very likely that a new right-back will come in. On top of that, United already has young Diogo Dalot waiting in the wings, and if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is to remain true to his word and stick to exciting youth prospects, surely the Portuguese U-21 starlet gets an opportunity against Chelsea ahead of the current club captain.
Joao Cancelo, Juventus
Joao Cancelo is an attack-minded full-back at heart, but he's solid defensively, too. His concentration rarely lets him down on the big stage, and he boasts a solid tackle success rate of 67% whilst making 1.7 tackles per game. The Portuguese international would be a marked upgrade on Ashley Young and is a player that young countryman Diogo Dalot could learn a lot from, especially with regards to positional awareness and ability to read danger. At twenty-five years of age, Cancelo is in the prime of his career, so we don't expect him to improve too much; at least not without some top-class coaching. However, he could easily slot in and make the right-back position his own at Old Trafford for the next five years.
Despite all the positives, the player once nicknamed The Gypsy did find his game time at the Allianz Stadium limited last season due to the emergence of Mattia De Sciglio, and reports suggest that he could be made available, with Juventus interested in offering him up as part of a deal to bring Paul Pogba back to Turin.
The Gypsy would be an astute signing considering the relatively low price of £40-45 million that is being banded around in the press. However, with Pogba seemingly more interested in a future in Madrid, and with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City also heavily linked with the Portuguese international, we feel this transfer may be difficult for Ed Woodward to wrap up in time for the opening day of the EPL season.
Diogo Dalot, Manchester United
Manchester United can boast one of the most highly rated young full-backs in world football among their ranks. Diogo Dalot is already a dazzling player to watch in an attacking sense: pace, skill, trickery, eye for a pass, decent from dead-ball situations - the young lad has it all in the locker and then some. The problem lies purely with his defensive capabilities. He doesn't make enough tackles, has a below-par tackle success rate and needs to work on his concentration as his lapses cost a nervy Manchester United team vital goals last season.
If it truly is time to rebuild at Old Trafford; and if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer truly wants to give youth a chance next season, why look further than the man Jose Mourinho suggested could go on to become a star at the club. He already looks exceptional with the ball at his feet, and if he's able to improve on the defensive aspects of his game, United could already have a gem of a player at the club.
“The kid Diogo, fantastic. I think Gary Neville must be thinking that Manchester United now has a very good right back for ten years.”
Though our guts are telling us that Manchester United will do business this summer and bring in a new right-back, having such a promising player as Diogo Dalot in the ranks at the very least means Red Devils fans can relax a bit.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Crystal Palace
There isn't a better defensive-minded right back in the EPL right now than England's own Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The stats speak for themselves: 129 tackles, 70% success rate, and 84 interceptions in the league last season have helped to make the Crystal Palace player one of the most talked-about full-backs in European football.
The tough-tackling right back still needs to add a bit more to his attacking locker in order to be considered a true star of the game, and of course he also needs exposure at the highest level to test his undoubted raw ability, but we feel he has the defensive attributes necessary to make the grade at a big club.
Reports indicate that Eagles' chairman, Chris Parish is not willing to separate with his prized asset on the cheap and £80 million is the current price being touted around in the media, though reports in today's English press do appear to suggest that United would be able to get a significant reduction on the price if they are willing to wave the 20% sell-on-clause (potentially up to £20 million) they factored into the sale of Wilfred Zaha to the South London based club four years ago.
The only stumbling block on this deal at present appears to be the price. The Telegraph reports that United have already seen a bid of £40 million rejected, and there are numerous reports appearing in the tabloids at this very moment that an improved second offer of £50 million has also been rejected by the Eagles.
Despite the complications, we feel Ed Woodward determined to get this one over the line and that it could even be wrapped up before the end of the U21 European Championships, which would be a great coup for the club as they have a difficult EPL fixture list to navigate in August/ September.
One thing is for sure, though: if it's Ashley Young running out in August against Chelsea, expect to see United fans once again don the green and gold of Newton Heath and take to the streets in protest.
What do you think? Will Ashley Young STILL be on the right flank against Chelsea on the opening day of the EPL season at Old Trafford? Have your say in the comments section below.
