They’ve lost to Liverpool, Arsenal and Rosenborg, and last season’s injury crisis looks to have spread, like mould, into the fibres of the current campaign.
Rasmus Hojlund is out for around six weeks with a hamstring injury, but arguably the bigger kick in the teeth is the loss of new signing Leny Yoro, who joined from Lille for £52million last month after United pipped Real Madrid to his signature.
The centre-back suffered an ill-timed metatarsal injury and has been ruled out until late October, leaving a gaping hole in Erik ten Hag’s defence, particularly after Raphael Varane’s departure.
As such, we thought we’d have a go at imaging what a perfect end to the summer transfer window might look like for the Red Devils and spoiler alert, there are a couple of reunions in store.
Landing De Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt has been on United’s radar ever since Ten Hag’s arrival in 2022. The Dutch defender, 24, is in the shop window after a reasonable, but somewhat underwhelming, two-year stint at Bayern Munich.
It’s understood the German giants want around £42m for the player, and while United are trying to drive down the price, there’s a sense that it won’t take an awful lot to get a deal over the line.
Landing De Ligt would reunite him with Ten Hag, his former boss at Ajax, for the first time in five years. The defender captained Ten Hag’s Eredivisie-winning side in 2018/19 and was crowned European Golden Boy after helping the club reach the Champions League semi-final before sealing a £70m move to Juventus.
With De Ligt in the mix alongside Lisandro Martinez, United would have a pair of reliable, experienced centre-backs to call upon, and wouldn’t be forced to chuck Yoro, who, lest we forget, is still only 18, in at the deep end.
