"They would absolutely love to have someone like him" - Brendan Rodgers says Manchester United would want Leicester City star at the club
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has claimed that Manchester United would 'absolutely love to have someone like' Jonny Evans at the heart of their defence.
The Red Devils have struggled at the back this season and Rodgers claimed they made a mistake by selling the Northern Ireland international.
Evans came through the youth ranks at Manchester United, having joined the club as a nine-year-old before making his debut under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2007.
The 34-year-old spent some memorable years at Old Trafford until he was offloaded by Louis van Gaal in 2015 to West Bromwich Albion for just £6 million.
During his time at Old Trafford, the Northern Irishman made a total of 198 appearances for the club and won a total of 11 trophies, including three Premier League titles and one Champions League.
No player deserves abuse. We stand with you, @HarryMaguire93. 💙 https://t.co/Q9Xxyi3AXB
Evans has been a key player for Leicester City since his £3.5 million move to the King Power Stadium in 2018 following West Brom's relegation.
The Foxes will travel to Old Trafford on Saturday to take on Ralf Rangnick's side and Rodgers has spoke about the Red Devils' defensive woes.
“I know how United feel because I’ve spoken enough to staff and people there," Rodgers said in his press-conference, as quoted by the Express. “Jonny is a Man United player. It’s as simple as that. You’ve only got to look at his performance level to know they would absolutely love to have someone like him, fully fit and playing at centre half. I’m pretty sure of that.”
Evans has only featured 11 times for Leicester City this season in the Premier League, missing out due to injuries.
Manchester United must secure three points against Leicester City on Saturday to keep their top four hopes alive.
Did Manchester United make a mistake by letting Jonny Evans go?
Jonny Evans has been an excellent Premier League defender over the years but his time at Manchester United was far from anything spectacular.
The Northern Irishman has always been pretty susceptible to injuries but when fit, he is a decent centre-back who has the potential to be a good squad player for a big club.
Rangnick on Harry Maguire getting booed: "I didn't understand what happened at Wembley, it won't happen in our stadium with the Red Army. He's been playing well for #mufc and England in the last couple of years." #mulive
The 20-time champions of England have hardly improved defensively since letting Evans go, but retaining the 34-year-old would not have been the solution to their problems.
With the likes of Harry Maguire, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof struggling at the back and Eric Bailly and Phil Jones forever on the treatment table, the Red Devils need to shore up their backline this summer.
They need better ball-playing defenders who can partner Varane in defense and help United build from the back. Harry Maguire, despite being chances galore, is proving time and again that he is not the £80 million player the club wants him to be.