Arsenal legend Ian Wright has urged Manchester United to make RB Leipzig centre-back Dayot Upamecano a priority signing and feels their current defence will get ‘annihilated’ by the big six, also criticising Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s coaching
The Red Devils have endured a difficult window, failing to land top target Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund while they have not reinforced their defence at all either.
United’s backline shipped three goals at home to Crystal Palace at the weekend, with both centre-backs heavily criticised, and Wright is in disbelief that they have not corrected their issues yet by signing Upamecano from Leipzig.
Speaking on The Kelly & Wrighty Show, he said: ‘Upamecano, 21 years old, he’s probably desperate to go somewhere like Manchester United.
‘Why aren’t they doing that deal? Especially when you watch how Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof played the other day.
‘We know that the goalkeeper [is struggling]. I think Dean Henderson coming in there is not going to help David de Gea. I think it’s going to put him under pressure knowing that there’s somebody who’s going to cause him problems, and I think we’re going to see more mistakes out of him.
‘But why aren’t they doing that deal [for Upamecano]? Why aren’t they going and doing the deal? Why aren’t they doing the Jadon Sancho deal? They are dithering, and what’s going to happen is they are going to get caught up and passed.’
He explained: ‘The thing with Harry Maguire, being at Leicester and Hull before, is that I believe his game is the same as it was there: he made those same mistakes. He gets himself too square sometimes, he pulls himself out of position, you can get in behind him.
‘Those things are down to coaching. I know we’re talking about money, but if they’re coaching him right – as a footballer, coming out [with the ball], perfect – but defensively the top teams will annihilate those two as centre-halves.’
He continued: ‘You only have to look at what Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is doing in respective of tactics, I don’t see what Manchester United’s pattern of play is.
‘One of the most significant things that I saw with the Palace game was, they’ve literally gone back to a team that didn’t have a clue what they were doing.
‘Pogba got taken off in the end, Bruno Fernandes looked pedestrian in there. And you think to yourself, that’s got to come back down to the coach. For me, it’s got to come back down to how they’re being coached.
‘Because the movement was very static up front – and you’ve got players who can get you the ball – but the movement is wrong. Anthony Martial is too far out on the left where Rashford wants to come in from. They’ve got a lot of problems I think.’
