“They need a player like him” – Kleberson names ideal replacement for Harry Maguire at Manchester United
Former Brazil midfielder Jose Kleberson has outlined Mathijs De Ligt as the player Manchester United should sign to replace club captain Harry Maguire.
Mathijs De Ligt was famously linked with the Red Devils in 2019 before he ended up joining Juventus in a €85 million deal. The Dutch centre-back has started 16 games for his club this season after having trouble establishing himself as a starter in the first two seasons.
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Considered a flop at Manchester United, Kleberson claimed that De Ligt would be the perfect replacement for the under-fire Harry Maguire:
"Manchester United must make a few signings at centre-back position, primarily to replace Harry Maguire. He's a great player and leader - but there are a too many moments that he just doesn't perform, particularly when one-on-one or up against pacey players. He needs help defending. They need someone faster, stronger in the air, that can anticipate what will happen and that will be able to stop counter attacks. I like Matthijs de Ligt. Manchester United tried to bring him in a few years ago, but it didn't work out. They need a player like him. They need to get someone in there to do a better job.”
Kleberson and Manchester United fans want club captain Harry Maguire to be replaced
The match against Arsenal was Harry Maguire’s best performance for United in a long time. The England defender has looked a shadow of the player he was at the Euros, and was recently dropped against Chelsea by Michael Carrick.
Since making the big-money move from Leicester, Maguire has been far from the rock that Manchester United thought they were signing. This season especially, Harry Maguire’s confidence has looked shot. He is more error-prone than ever and looks to have regressed.
Maguire’s aerial ability was supposed to be unparalleled. So was his ability to bring the ball out and dominate attackers physically high up on the pitch.
"Manchester United must make a few signings at centre-back position, primarily to replace Harry Maguire." #MUFC
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This season under Ole, he looked as if he was instructed to play against his natural tendencies and hang back in order to make up for his lack of pace. Maguire was not the only player who looked to have regressed under Ole this season.
Aaron Wan Bissaka was encouraged to attack more often but this season, he has not looked the same defender as well. Luke Shaw has been poor on both ends of the pitch. Jadon Sancho struck form only when Ole left.
Marcus Rashford has looked tired despite scoring some goals and arguably needs more time to get back to his best. Slight positional adjustments for Fred and Scott McTominay also proved fruitful in the games Carrick was in charge.
Harry Maguire looked sharp and was willing to press up high for Manchester United against Arsenal. For his sake, the improvement needs to continue. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before he is relegated to the bench.
New coach Ralf Rangnick will have no intention of building his Manchester United team around shaky defenders.