To say Manchester United struggle defensively would, clearly, be the understatement of the year. Indeed, having conceded 54 goals in the Premier League alone over the course of the campaign, the likes of Chris Smalling and Phil Jones must have invoked the ire of fans this season, as well as some of the players.
According to the Times towards the end of May, figures within the club's dressing room were annoyed at the sight of those two - as well as Ashley Young - being handed big new deals not viewed as reflective to their standing in the team. So, not an ideal situation by any means.
Well, to cheer you all up, as is always likely to happen at this time of year, the club have been linked to some pretty exciting names when it comes to potentially fixing problems. That's because, according to A Bola via Sports Witness, the club are looking to sign Benfica’s highly-rated defender Ruben Dias.
The young Portuguese centre-back has hit headlines with the Lisbon giants, establishing himself as somewhat of a defensive tower in their backline. Indeed, Joao Felix might be the star seemingly everyone has their attention on, but Dias is just as exciting.
Impressively, he’s also a player suited to play onto Victor Lindelof's strengths. Dias averaged 3.4 clearances, 3.2 aerials won and 1.2 tackles per game (stats via WhoScored) last season, while putting in dominant performances in Europe as well. Obviously, a move to the Premier League would take some getting used to, but that kind of physical presence alongside the aforementioned Swede (who boasts a fairly impressive 88.2% passing success rate) looks like a natural foil.
United need to start building from the back, giving their midfield a base to go off before releasing some of the clearly talented forwards the club have on their books. Obviously, it's going to be a process, but the potential signing of Dias could go some way into helping that transition.
United fans, do you think Dias can be the solution to the defensive problems? Join the discussion by commenting below...