Man Utd could sign their next Patrice Evra with bold £48m January swoop - if Arsenal don’t get there firstplaceholder image
Man Utd could sign their next Patrice Evra with bold £48m January swoop - if Arsenal don’t get there first | Getty Images
Manchester United have a golden opportunity to bolster their left-back options in the January transfer window
Manchester United are a club that’s long been renowned for attracting the best in class. They may not have had a great season last year but still had the clout to attract names like Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko ahead of many of their rivals despite failing to secure qualification for any form of football on the continent.
Of course the aim of the club is to get back in the upper echelons of the division sooner rather than later, and though it’s been far from perfect, the early signs this year suggest Ruben Amorim is finally starting to move things in the right direction.
But what do the Red Devils still need to do in January to get themselves ahead in the race for Europe?
Why Man Utd should target a left-back in January
Over the course of 12 months, Amorim has clearly set his stall out at how he wants his team to play while ever he’s the United manager - and it’s very hard to envisage that changing anytime soon.
The Red Devils under his stewardship play a 3-4-2-1 formation featuring two wing-backs, a double pivot, two No.10s and one out-and-out centre forward.
He’s been slowly filling each piece of this jigsaw together since taking charge a year ago, and while it’s not a formation everyone's a fan of, it’s clear to see this version of United is a more coherent outfit than the one that ended last season.
However, the left-wing-back position still remains a cause for concern - and one which United should look to strengthen if they are to compete in the upper echelons of the division.
As it stands, United have Patrick Dorgu, a 21-year-old signed from Leece in January, as their only natural left-sided defender. Luke Shaw, at this stage of his career, is now viewed as a central defender by Amorim, while Diogo Dalot, who sometimes plays on the left is a much more comfortable player on the right side.
It’s a far cry from the names United have had in the past such as Patrice Evra, Dennis Irwin or even Gabriel Heinze and is a position where the Red Devils should really have a specialist if they are to catapult themselves into European contention.
Man Utd should sign Nathaniel Brown
The Old Trafford outfit have been heavily linked with a move for rising Eintracht Frankfurt left-back Nathaniel Brown.
The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the best young talents in the Bundesliga after helping Germany’s Under-21 team reach the European Championship final over the summer and he’s expected to be in contention to play at the World Cup next summer after making two appearances at senior level.
Brown started out as FC Nurnberg in the second-tier of German football and has been a revelation since making the move to Frankfurt in the summer of 2024. Overall, he’s played 51 times for Frankfurt, scoring four times and chipping in with 10 assists. He has gained experience in both the Europa League and Champions League while playing for Frankfurt and has been central to the success of both Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush (two players that have since moved to the Premier League) due to his tremendous athleticism, overlapping runs and crosses into the box.
Statistics from Fbref also show that Brown has superb defensive statistics. Last season for example, he boasted the fourth most tackles in the league last season, and the best success rate of attempting them without committing a foul of any player in the division.
The German has proven that he’s capable of playing both as a left-back and as a wing-back, providing great versatility to the team. This at an estimated value of £48mcould be a real shrewd signing for United if they can fend off interest from both Arsenal and Manchester City, who are also linked.
Those two sides can offer Champions League incentives and the prospect of a Premier League title challenge this term. But both are also well stocked in defence in comparison to United, who would almost certainly be able to offer Brown a starting spot.
Ultimately, signing Brown could give United’s left side of defence a sense of quality they’ve been lacking since arguably Evra in his prime years under Alex Ferguson.
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