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After finishing 19 points behind Pep Guardiola's magnificent Manchester City side this season, Manchester United and Jose Mourinho are under immense pressure to wrestle back the Premier League crown from their crosstown rivals next season. In what culminated in a record-breaking season, City absolutely blew every Premier League team out of the water with the delightful football they played week-in-week-out.
United, on the other hand, were constantly called out by the press, rivals and in some cases their own fans for playing a relatively less inspired brand of football throughout the season. One of Mourinho's biggest issues this past season was the lack of width on offer in games where the opposition preferred packing the midfield and sitting back, waiting to hit the Red Devils on the counter.
The Old Trafford outfit have two 32-year-old wingers who have been converted into fullbacks as their first-choice options on either flank of the defence. Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia do not have the engine, the attacking capabilities or the positional awareness you'd want from a modern full-back and this held United back this past season. For all the consistency the pair have exhibited, there’s no denying that they are merely stop-gaps and not the kind of players you would want to depend on.
An invigoration in both positions is needed if Mourinho is to mount a serious title challenge next season. Guardiola splashed about £100M on two full backs who fit City’s style of play perfectly and took them to a different echelon altogether. An overlapping full-back (on either side), who can make marauding runs beyond the winger, has excellent crossing ability and possesses the positional awareness in defence to ably stop attacks emerging from the wing is the need of the hour at Old Trafford.
Here are three players they should ideally target this summer:
Djibril Sidibe
Purchased from Lille in a deal worth £13M in 2016, the Monaco full-back would be a very tempting choice for Mourinho over the other options on this list, given his ability to play both as a right-back and left-back. Sidibe was instrumental in Monaco's Ligue 1 triumph in his first season at the club and he has gone from strength to strength since joining the French outfit.
Sidibe's consistency and excellence for Leonardo Jardim's side this season has resulted in the former scoring 3 goals and assisting a further 8 this season. He suffered a season-ending knee injury in April while playing against Paris Saint-Germain and did not feature for Monaco again. However, given his impressive performances over the season prior to suffering the season-ending injury, France coach Didier Deschamps decided to include the fullback in his French squad for the World Cup.
Sidibe's stellar displays this past season have made him one of United's primary targets and the Red Devils will have to cough up an amount in the region of £40-50M if they are to secure the Frenchman's signature.
Sime Vrsaljko
After arriving at Atletico Madrid for a fee of £14.5 million from Sassuolo in 2016, Sime Vrsaljko has steadily improved and become an important part of Atleti's squad. He arrived at the club as a stereotypical attacking full back, assisting the attackers by making constant overlapping runs. Though strong in the tackle, Vrsaljko had the tendency to jump in a bit early. Although, as you'd expect, two years under the tutelage of Diego Simeone have ironed out most of his defensive flaws.
With Juanfran getting on in age, Vrsaljko has a very bright chance of becoming Atleti's undisputed first choice right back next season. However, the Croatian is not considered indispensable and if United come up with a bid in excess of £45M, the top brass at the Vicente Calderon might consider their offer.
Recently, Simeone's side have been linked to Real Sociedad's promising full-back Alvaro Odriozola and their reported interest in the young Spaniard might help Mourinho's cause in prising Vrsaljko away from Madrid.
Joao Cancelo
The Portuguese right-back spent the second half of the season at Inter Milan from Valencia and impressed immensely in his brief spell at the San Siro. The Nerazzurri's hopes of acquiring the services of the Valencia defender have been dealt a blow though, as the Financial Fair Play Rules will only allow them to permanently purchase either one of Rafinha or Cancelo.
Cancelo has a buyout clause of €35M and given how he's considered one of the most promising full-backs in the world, it would be a no-brainer for United to not go in for him. Pacey, tall and an astute defender, the 24-year-old has all the attributes of a modern-day full-back and considering the fact that he's relatively young, there is a chance that he might become one of the world's best in a few years.
Either way, Cancelo will be plying his trade in the Champions League next season as his parent club Valencia have made the group stages. Staying put at the Mestalla and working under Marcelino could be another intriguing option for him. The Valencia manager has been instrumental in getting the best out of players like Geoffrey Kondogbia, Goncalo Guedes and Simone Zaza this past season and could also take Cancelo to another level altogether.
