Manchester United manager Michael Carrick now has a major decision to make over his preferred centre-back partnership.
Matthijs de Ligt is arguably the best centre-back at United and has the experience of playing for a few of the biggest clubs in the world.
He made an excellent start to the 2025-26 season and was the most in-form player before a serious back injury brought his campaign crashing to a halt.
De Ligt has now returned to fitness, but Carrick is likely to take a cautious approach and ease him back into competitive action.
We believe the defender may not be ready to reclaim a starting spot until late November.
When fully fit, De Ligt and Lisandro Martinez could arguably form United’s strongest centre-back partnership.
However, with the Dutch international still working towards full match sharpness, Carrick has continued to rely on Harry Maguire.
We believe the United manager should now consider replacing Maguire with Leny Yoro.
While De Ligt gradually builds up his fitness, pairing Yoro with Martinez could give United the ideal blend of pace and experience at the back.
Yoro delivered a superb performance on his France debut against Belgium earlier this week.
He showed his potential with a superb performance on his senior France debut against Belgium earlier this week.
Having the Frenchman covering behind him could give Martinez greater freedom to step higher up the pitch and take more risks with his incisive distribution.
Martinez also made a cameo appearance against Benin and completed 100% of his passes.
When fully fit, he is the best ball-playing centre-back in the Premier League.
The 20-year-old will inevitably make mistakes as he continues to develop, but Carrick now has an opportunity to combine his energy and athleticism with the experience of the Argentine international.
Stats from Fotmob.com
