Manchester United Need Not Buy A Left-back At Least Until The Summer And Here’s Why
Manchester United may have spent insane amounts at the start of the season but there are a couple of positions in the squad that Jose Mourinho is still desperate to improve and the left-back position is one such, which he might want to work on, as soon as possible.
The likes of Matteo Darmian, Daley Blind and Luke Shaw have just not been able to give the Portuguese enough for him trust them and this has seen Mourinho stick with a make-shift full-back in Ashley Young, for crunch games this season.
For a club expecting to be fighting for the title, United cannot be without a first-choice left-back for the whole season so it does not come as a surprise that he is already looking at options he can add to his squad in the near future. However, does he really need one?
At right-back, Mourinho has stuck with Antonio Valencia, who was also converted into a full-back from an attacking role. So can the Red Devils do the same on the other flank with Young? Does the English international deserve more game time this season? His figures this season definitely paint a rosy picture of the 32-year old.
Young has 8 Premier League starts this season, 5 of them at left-back, where he has registered a couple of assists already. He averages 1.8 tackles per game, 2 interceptions per game, showing that he is more than capable of holding the fort at the back. What has been more impressive is his effort at the other end of the field.
With 1.4 successful dribbles, 1 key pass, 0.6 shots on goal, 1.4 crosses per game and a passing accuracy of 76%, the veteran winger has not lost his touch at in the final third. Compared to his numbers in the last three seasons, Young has already seen an improvement that, if put on a scale, is around 170% better this season.
He seriously came to the fore in the game against Newcastle United recently, which ended in a comfortable 4-1 victory for the Red Devils. Young picked up an assist in that game and was quite sensational.
With 3 chances created to go with his 4 tackles and 3 interceptions, Young was one of the best players for United on the pitch in that game and it is hard to see the manager ignore him in the next few games.
So do United really need another left-back? Maybe not in January at least.
The likes of Danny Rose, Aaron Martin and Kieran Tierney are all on the club’s radar, but it will be close to impossible for the English outfit to lure any of them out of their respective clubs in January. So at least until the end of the season, Ashley Young is a decent option for Mourinho, who actually deserves more game time than he has got, so far this campaign.
Stat Credit: Whoscored.com