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How can Manchester United cope without any new centre-backs?

‘Filthy’ – the term one can use while ornamenting Manchester United’s tumultuous start to the 2020-21 campaign.

The Mancunian reds have already faced heavy defeats to Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur on their home soil.

With just one month into the new season, those losses not only widened the magnitude of jeopardy but also prompted the disdain further within the fan base. 

And how anyone could overlook the Premier League game against Brighton and Hove Albion where the crossbar and a penalty after the final whistle followed by late hand-ball came to rescue United on that very day. 

Having played three matches, one less than most of the sides, in the Premier League, United’s defence has conceded 11 goals, only two short of West Bromwich Albion’s 13 and equal to Fulham, who are the favourites to get relegated by the end of the current Premeir League campaign.

If you believe in the xG philosophy, a modern way to examine and analyze the beautiful game of football, Manchester United have had possessed the second-worst record while conceding xG of 8.63 in the league only behind West Borm’s 10.56.

Yes, the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace and 6-1 loss to Tottenham has had played a major role in making United opening bad to worse, but was it supposed to happen?

Had we not heard Ole Gunnar Solskjaer saying ‘we need a left-footed centre-back, so keep going’ to a then-AFC Bournemouth centre-back Nathan Ake?

How could a club knowing that they needed a centre-back went into the market and finished the window without having one?

Some interpreted a centre-back would be a priority target at the start of the summer transfer window.

And with all transfers being made and a period of exchanging players done and dusted, the only thing United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could do is scratch his head and choose the regular XI from what he has got. 

Where do frailties lie? 

From what we have seen so far, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has used two centre-back pairings in the Premier League. 

On the very opening day of the season, he went with the conventional Harry Maguire-Victor Lindelof partnership at the back, despite the fact that both Lindelof and Maguire were struggling to complement each other with their pace. 

Both are physically strong and aerially solid, but the lack of pace is the reason United conceded so many goals in the latter part of the 2019-20 campaign. 

In their second game against Brighton, the defensive pairing remained the same, resulting in the Seagulls scoring two goals and hitting the woodwork on five occasions at Amex Stadium. 

Sensing the apparent danger of getting hit on counter-attacks, Solskjaer took a slight chance against Spurs by chipping in Eric Bailly to partner Harry Maguire at the heart of the defence. 

It could have been worked had not Harry Maguire had a nightmare against United’s former boss. 

What is the way of salvation for the Mancunian side now? 

Manchester United were really struggling defensively towards end of the last season, and the 48- day gap between last season-ending and this season starting has not had helped their cause either.

The players looked unprepared and lethargic for a brand new season. 

United didn’t sign any centre-back from the international summer transfer window

And an acquisition from the domestic transfer market, which will remain open till October 16, would now prove to be the worst-case scenario for the Red Devils. 

Hence, keeping the shutter of the bank close, United should be looking to fix the defensive dilemma with what they have got instead of picking another plausible deadwood.

United currently have six senior centre-backs available in Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo, Axel Tuanzebe, and Phil Jones. If you count Teden Menghi in that group, the number goes up to seven.  

Owing to the shortest pre-season in the history of the club, Manchester United didn’t get any time to try those permutations and Combinations in regard to their back-four.

And Solskjaer might have to make some brave decision which might see Harry Maguire, the captain, getting excluded from the first elven. 

As things stand now, trying every possible proportion and hoping something clicks at the end of the day seem to be the only way of redemption for the Norwegian gaffer.