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It has been a disastrous season so far for Manchester United who are in danger of failing to qualify for European competitions altogether.
Manager Erik ten Hag’s flawed tactical switch at the start of the season was seen as one of the causes behind the poor form exhibited by the team. The other factor that has aided in the decline has been the ever-mounting pile of injuries.
Players have suffered more than 60 separate cases of injury with INEOS unhappy with the Dutchman’s training regimen and have even ordered a probe to get to the bottom of this issue.
The biggest casualty has been the defence with the former Ajax coach hardly ever having the luxury of picking his strongest back-four this campaign.
LB crisis
Left-back is an area of concern with Tyrell Malacia having missed the entire season due to injury while Luke Shaw’s injury problems seem to have returned with a vengeance.
The England international has ended up missing 32 games this season and with Malacia’s future far from certain, there is a need to strengthen in that position.
Academy graduate Alvaro Fernandez is expected to be sold to Benfica after Ten Hag decided he was not good enough for the step-up to the first team.
United were forced to dip into the loan market to bring in Sergio Reguilon who showed passion and determination but could not impress the manager and his loan was terminated in January.
The Red Devils were initially inclined towards a temporary move for Marc Cucurella of Chelsea but it had fallen through and it seems the Blues star is once again on the radar.
If indeed the 20-time English league champions decide to bring in an additional left-back, journalist Simon Phillips
has revealed that the Spaniard and Ben Chilwell are both targets.
“I’m hearing that United have reignited that interest in the Spanish left back ahead of a potential move this summer. They like Cucurella, who has interest from other clubs now coming in as well,” Phillips wrote on his substack.
Another Chelsea raid
While both can be termed as effective backups, Shaw’s injury history could mean a more increased role for whoever lands up at Old Trafford.
The only concern is the fact that both have had disappointing spells this year and are equally injury-prone. The former Brighton man has missed 17 games while the ex-Leicester star has been sidelined for 36 games this term.
Both are on long-term deals and the London side are known to drive a hard bargain as seen from United’s recent acquisition of Mason Mount.
The Old Trafford side can ill-afford another injury-prone Chelsea misfit on big wages. It will be interesting to see how INEOS go about recruitment this summer.
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