The 18/19 season was not a good season for Manchester Utd defensive assets. If we just take the cold hard facts, last season they recorded 7 Clean sheets. This is the same number as Brighton, Saints, Watford and West Ham. Manchester United conceded 54 goals which placed them 10th in that metric in the league. This is 31 more than the Champions and 8 more than 7th placed Wolves and 8th placed Everton.

This is not the Kline of form you expect from a top 4 club. Last season in the league they had 5 different centre back 5 combinations, one of which consisted of Jones and McTominay. For one game they also had a back three, the most prominent member of those partnerships was Lindelӧf with 29 starts followed up by Smalling with 23 starts.

Those two made up the most consistent partnership playing 15 games together and also played the most games back to back. Both playing together for 5 games in a row twice last season. We all know a settled centre back partnership goes a very long way to helping the whole defensive unit. With familiarity breeding confidence and everyone instilling the notion that they all know their jobs within the system. Changing this too much especially in those central areas can lead to uncertainty in the goalkeepers and other teammates. With each central defender having different traits and playing styles.

WHen you look at Spurs with Vertonghen and Alderweireld one stays and goes, one plays long and one plays short, they are helped by years of knowing each other and understanding the subtleties in each other’s game, Pique and Ramos for the successful Spain side, chalk and cheese but work so well together. I think that’s what Utd need to find at Centre back instead of this mis-match of random CBs.

We can look at what they actually have at Centre back, Marcus Rojo, not a CB and not a LB, has no real strengths apart from his passing. Then his concentration lets him down and he inevitably gets bookings for being out of position. Eric Bailly, still only 25, I think people forget that, he moved after one good season at Villarreal but has only played 50 times for UTD since 2016 due to persistent injuries. He still has for me all the ability and if he could keep those at bay, he could be the go-to understudy behind the strongest CB pairing.

Phil Jones, touted as the next big defensive prospect during his fleeting career with Blackburn as a youngster where he made 35 appearances before moving and becoming somewhat a utility man, playing CB, RB and even DM at some stages. Another of United’s defenders were concentration is fundamental flaw and is simply not good enough. Chris Smalling is perhaps the second-best CB at the club, again for me it’s the concentration issue, he never fills me any confidence when watching him even though he is a defender that likes to try and challenge for the ball and is much more successful in the air than on the ground. This brings me onto UTD’s best current CB Victor Lindelӧf who can actually defend, he has that Scandinavian calmness, likes to bring the ball forward to start moves off in his own half, is a threat aerially in both boxes and could be the RCB in the clubs new CB pairing ahead of the upcoming season.

The full back area was also a source of concern last season with converted winger Ashley Young at right back, starting 28 times in the league. Previously involved with a rather public roasting from his former manager Mourinho until he cemented his place this year starting 29 times and being a good attacking outlet with 1 goal and 5 assists throughout the campaign. The highly promising Diego Dalot and the utility full back Matteo Darmian were used as back up last season and did not do anything to suggest they will continue to be that this year. Watching United last year I always felt that full back was an area that teams could exploit with both Shaw and Young being forward thinking in nature they often left a shield of the now cumbersome Matic and whichever two centre backs in front of the seemingly forever shot at DDG. Not exactly a great way to set up tactically if your fullbacks cannot do the basics right, it seemed as thoughShaw was doing more towards the end of the season which could be good news for the upcoming campaign but UTD’s first summer signing this year could be the catalyst def

Dave Does Great

Ok so that might not have been true last year, and your only as good as your past season right? Well I think unless you have someone like Oblak, Ederson or Allison in goal with that defence last season the results might have been the same. It was DDG’s lowest season for clean sheets in his 6 seasons with a record high of 18 2017/18, he managed 14 in 2016/17 and only 16 points less, I think BPS shows the he was performing way above his means last year with the often wandering defence and lack of a compatible and dynamic midfield in front of them. Still at 5.5m if he does what he does and has a settled and reliable back four he could be a good shout to be your keeper but only if that unit shows signs its gelling. A few good runs before Christmas he could be your set and forget.

Slabhead

United have signed Harry Maguire, with the fee reportedly in excess of 80m. Let’s look at what are United are getting for their money, they are getting a 26-year-old, 6 ft 4 Centre Back with three years top flight experience, who has come on leaps and bounds since being relegated with Hull in 2017.

You could see how confident he was taking charge at the back and stepping out of defence when he could, this has transitioned into him doing this as a standard for Leicester in this past two years. He is right footed but likes to play on the left of the centre back pairings which could cement Lindelӧf as his full-time partner.

As mentioned before he likes to come out of the back and this shows in his numbers, he completed 76% of his take-ons (16/21) and liked to make that move through the centre of the pitch to cut out that extra pass in midfield and get it to the danger men or play long balls out to on rushing wide-men.

His height gives him an advantage over players but these next stats are worth more than just praising his size, with Maguire having the highest aerial duels success rate with 78.1% (minimum of 30 contested) above the god-like VVD which was a massive 118/151 duels. We do not know exactly what Ole will try to get Maguire doing at United. However his style has changed in the short time under Rodgers at Leicester so it shows he is still willing to learn.

Under Puel he was making 25 passes in his own half per 90 minutes and making 1.54 interceptions per 90 minutes with the team often playing without the ball soaking up the oppositions pressure.

Under Rodgers he upped his passes per 90 in his own half to 42 but his interception per 90 dropped to 0.62. This could be seen as a change in the way they set up and how he was used. Utilised to retain the ball rather than winning it back and what he can do when he wins it back is use that pass he has or set off on the dribbles he likes to go on.

As well as being a colossus in his own box he can also contribute in the oppositions box, due to his size and ability he either looks to do the damage himself, as 7 goals in three seasons shows or setting up his teammates with 8 assists in that period.

I like Maguire for what he can do now and how he has evolved, seemingly not being content to be just the rock at the back but to listen to coaches and work on the things he is good at to make them an actual function of his game. He looks like that old school CB but moves like a modern-day ball playing one, if he utilises those things he is good at, then United will become such a different team.

He could dominate at the back, and provide leadership and stability that they have been sorely lacking but he will be looking to break with the ball into those deep midfield areas to spring that pass to Pogba, to Shaw or to the other new signing AWB who once he figures out his final third instincts will become an even dare I say better Right back then he is, more on that later.

In FPL terms, United are the home of the £5.5m defender or keeper, with DDG, AWB, Maguire, Shaw and Lindelӧf at that price, now going on last season you might be seen as mad to put one in, but with these two new defenders who actually defend first do the rest later they could be set up to pick up from a few seasons ago when they only conceded 28 and 29 goals in the 38 games and then 5.5 or 11m for two of them could be a bargain after-all.

The Winger Whisperer

Pretty sure even though he was in a load of FPL teams at the beginning of the season I am guessing people had probably never seen him play, he was 4.0, played in some friendlies and the Palace regular right back was injured, does that sound about right?

For those in the know he had been touted the season before to break into the squad, originally starting out as a winger he was asked to play right back and was up against the trickiest of wingers, Wilfried Zaha, how many times did he get passed him in that practice game……. Not once!!!

So his fate was sealed then, right back was to become his new position. After impressing in some pre-season games for ill-fated Frank de Boer and actually started a game due to an injury crisis, a 1-0 defeat against Spurs he played the full 90 and impressed, he then played 90 minutes in 6 more Premier League games that season picking up two clean sheets.

The 2018/19 season is where the fun begins, as the number 29 made that right back spot his own, starting 35 games out of the 38 available and playing 4 games in the cup competitions. Good stuff so far you might say as its quite easy for defenders to play the waiting game and cut their teeth at a lower league rather than playing that amount of games at 20 years old, and not just playing them but turning in some high class performances beyond his years, sure young full backs sometimes have the pace or attacking threat but that’s why they get loaned out to hone the defensive part of their game, like Walker, Rose, Bertrand all attacking fullbacks who used the loan system to work on that part.

Not AWB, he already has that defensive nous built into his game. Now Palace, a team who generally play a counter-attacking system, which uses defensive organisation with the use of break-aways with the rapid players on the wings, this suited AWB’s ability to defend the wide areas, prevent crosses and not be left to marshal large amounts of space.

This will obviously have to change at UTD as they wont play as compact in the defensive areas as they will want to be the team on the attack and not wait to land the counter attacking sucker punch. The most impressive part of AWB’s game if you had not guessed it is his 1v1 defensive ability, lets look at some stats.

Last year he won 249 0f his 377 duels which amounts to 66%, this puts him in the top ten of premier league defenders, not full backs but all defenders. Impressive when you consider players that are stereotypical centre backs such as VVD (76%) and Maguire (73%), he also registered most tackles won of any defender with 90, with 3.7 tackles and 2.4 interceptions he is a force to be reckoned with. So, you are good if you win a duel against him right, now try and dribble past him…. Nine players managed this last season, just 9 you can see he has a lot defensively, it’s just his attacking output that needs working on at Old Trafford, he did complete 61 take-ons and register 3 assists but as he is so good defensively and he has the pace he can probably afford to take a few more risks especially if UTD have that settled back for and a mobile unit in front of them.

AWB possesses all the skills to exploit being put in an isolated 1v1 with the other fullback he has pace, close control and trickery required to beat opponents when he is that high up the pitch, so if Maguire can hit him from left centre back position and hit the diagonal to the right, we could start seeing multiple occasions where the strikers have chances all increasing AWB’s attacking output. His numbers crossing wise at 2.12 per game are better than England colleague Kyle Walker(2.09) and not too far off new team mate Ashley Young (3.32) but his accuracy at 33% is better than both of them, this number is equal to one of the best passers and crossers we have in the league at the minute, the other great England right back, TAA.

All in all, a great signing for Utd he ticks the defensive minded player that they need at the back then he can hopefully build on this and start showing some more offensive capabilities that the fans will want to see from his right-wing performances. At 5.5m in FPL terms he could be a solid choice, clean sheets might not be at a premium like last year and he has maybe a better calibre of team mates to supply in the final third. One thing is for sure you need to be pretty good to get anything out of him in his own half.

With these defensive upgrades we may finally be able to trust Manchester United defensive assets once more. When you consider how much cheaper they are than the other premiums it could offer some relief to you’re budget when you want to buy the big names.