Last season’s horror show at the back prompted manager Erik ten Hag to focus on improving the Manchester United defence as soon as he was appointed.
The Dutch manager managed to convince Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez to join him in Manchester and both have played a major role in United’s current four-match Premier League winning streak.
Martinez and his centre-back partner Raphael Varane have been a rock at the back, with United conceding only twice when the duo have started while they have kept three clean sheets in five games.
Utd have found their first-choice CB pair
The increasing dependence on the centre-back pairing has meant that club captain Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof have found themselves on the bench for most games.
🚨 Manchester City are set to battle arch rivals Man United for the signature of Inter Milan star Alessandro Bastoni
💰 The 23 year old is valued at around £50m
[@Gazzetta_it] 🌔#MCFC #PL #UCL
— Gabriel (@Doozy_45) September 24, 2022
In fact, since the Brentford thrashing, Maguire and Lindelof have managed only one start and the Red Devils ended up losing that game.
But Ten Hag has always maintained that chances will come considering the hectic schedule. United will play 13 times in little over a month beginning with the all-important Manchester Derby.
In case one among the two fail to dislodge the current pair, they might look to get a move away. And United’s Dutch boss wants to keep improving and for that, he is targetting the right kind of players.
Next season, United might have the chance to upgrade their defence even further, with Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni’s contract set to expire in 2024.
Manchester clubs to battle for Bastoni
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, “both Man United and Man City are preparing to test Inter’s resolve in 2023, while Tottenham are still in the background as well.”
The towering centre-back is yet to agree to a fresh contract and the Nerazzurri might be tempted to cash in in that case.
The report also mentions that interested parties might need to fork out as much as £50million if they are to prise away the Italy international.
City brought in Manuel Akanji during Aymeric Laporte’s layoff but knowing Pep Guardiola, he will once again look to revamp his defence as he look to continue his dominance in the Premier League.
Bastoni’s former manager Antonio Conte was close to bringing him to Spurs and the race is surely going to heat up in the next transfer window.
The accomplished defender has won the Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Supercoppa Italiana with Inter Milan while he was also part of Italy’s Euro 2020-winning squad.
