Manchester United are currently in the 6th position in the league but it is not for the lack of form or lack of quality they have shown lately. They were off to a fantastic start along with Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City but both the Manchester clubs fell away after a bright start and even though things balanced out gradually, a string of draws in the middle is hurting Manchester United now.
A number of winnable matches went by with the attackers failing to score due to their profligacy or the opposition goalkeeper’s brilliance. But they are in a much better space right now as the scoring boots are on and especially their star striker has resumed his normal service. Ibrahimovic has kept them in the hunt for a season which could yet turn into a very successful one with his 24 timely goals.
While United did pump in a lot of money in the summer, their supposed makeover seems to be far from over. A number of high-profile signings have been linked with them throughout the duration of this season and while Mourinho will surely look towards bolstering his attack, they have been linked with a number of central defenders even after signing Eric Bailly and with the dearth of apparent quality, it made sense initially.
But a centre-back doesn’t seem to be the cause for concern of the Red Devils right now. The form of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo in central defence has probably persuaded manager Jose Mourinho that he does not need to buy. The Portuguese also has cover at centre-back in Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind.
But in the fullback areas, there seems to be cause for concern. Mourinho hasn’t been convinced by Darmian at right-back and with Fosu-Mensah deemed for makeshift versatile roles as of now, there is no conventional right-back as of now. Valencia has been excellent at times but Mourinho’s penchant for using specialists might get in the way of Valencia becoming a long-term right-back for United.
And as such, reports linking the Old Trafford outfit with a move for Benfica fullback doesn’t seem to be far-fetched.
Semedo has spent his entire professional career at the Estadio da Luz and has become an integral part of the team at Benfica. But the impressive performances have caught the eye of United, who are apparently ready to trigger his release clause.
At the age of 23, he has already established himself as one of the brightest prospects at right-back. His style has been likened to Dani Alves. A great dribbler and a really solid crosser of the ball, he is known to support the attack and push forward often. He has worked on his defensive attributes lately and with time can be moulded into one of the best right-backs around.
The opportunity to ply his trade in the Premier League and having Jose Mourinho as his manager will be too good to resist for the youngster.
