2
After seeing his Manchester United squad in action for one whole season, manager Erik ten Hag now has a pretty good idea about which players need to be sold and which areas need immediate reinforcements.
One area which the Dutchman was concerned about in the first-half of the season was in the right-back position with Diogo Dalot hardly getting a rest due to the unavailability of Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The former Crystal Palace star garnered a grand total of four minutes prior to the World Cup and at that stage, a January exit seemed the most logical conclusion.
The Athletic feel AWB upgrade is on ETH’s mind
But Dalot’s injury in Qatar allowed the Englishman back into the first-team and he never looked back since as he dislodged the Portuguese from the right-back spot.
His resurgence in the second-half of the season was one of the success stories of Ten Hag’s maiden campaign but The Athletic have once again raised doubts about his long-term future.
Despite a poor second-half of the season, the Portuguese signed a new long-term deal and The Peoples Person covered a report which stated that the manager is happy with the two players at his disposal.
However, Laurie Whitwell has different information on the subject. He writes, “The situation in goal is replicated at right-back. Diogo Dalot has signed a new five-year contract, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka enjoyed a resurgent second half to the campaign, applying himself to Ten Hag’s instructions.
“But if United are to challenge for the major trophies, it is felt an upgrade from the latter is required.”
And this is where things get a bit interesting. Prior to Wan-Bissaka’s resurgence, the Red Devils were heavily linked with a move for Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen.
Recently, Bayern Munich star Benjamin Pavard‘s name is being mentioned as a target but it seems old favourite Denzel Dumfries might just trump all and emerge as the likeliest to arrive.
He has helped Inter Milan reach the Champions League final and also enjoyed a successful World Cup and even got on the scoresheet against the USA.
Dumfries back on the radar
“United have scouted Jeremie Frimpong, 21, making contact with Bayer Leverkusen, and looked at Bayern Munich’s Benjamin Pavard, 27, but Denzel Dumfries may have the most compelling case for a bid this summer.
“United’s scouting reports rate his intelligence and athleticism highly. Dumfries has two years left on his contract and could be available for £35million.”
Dumfries’ attacking stats speak for themselves. He has two goals and seven assists and prefers playing as a wing-back and is in the top 99 percentile for touches in the opposition’s penalty box.
A lot of question marks have been raised about the Dutch defender’s defensive abilities and his suitability to a back-four but Ten Hag will have the final call with regards to incomings and fans need to trust the manager.
