Dani Alves moving to Paris Saint-Germain has changed a lot of equations at different levels for various clubs. Reportedly, Manchester United have seen it as a window to land the Ligue1 side’s second-choice right-back Serge Aurier. The Ivory Coast international has been on the radar of every Premier League club for some time now and now with PSG looking to push him down the pecking order, this season could finally be the one.
Manchester United have already brought in centre-half Swedish international Victor Lindelof from Portuguese side Benfica and Belgian international Romelu Lukaku from Premier League side Everton, and their reinforcement procedure is far from over. Following last season’s mixed displays, which saw United doing terribly in the domestic campaign and winning the Europa League, the Red Devils have seen some of the players leaving this summer.
Though United didn’t showcase their worst defensive display last season, their back line lacked the edge that would win them big matches. Against the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur, Jose Mourinho saw his back line faltering time and again. And the recurring injuries to the likes of Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw kept the boss out of options almost the entire season.
The Portuguese gaffer had to play Ashley Young on the right defensive flank as Matteo Darmian had to deputise for the sidelined Shaw. However, with Champions League at stake here, he is definitely not willing to run that risk once again. And the addition of Aurier would definitely raise their level at the back.
And while the availability of Aurier looks to be there, United are definitely not taking it easy. The 24-year-old African has been also of interest to North London side Tottenham Hotspur, as per earlier reports, and given that they are on the verge of losing Kyle Walker to Manchester City, Mauricio Pochettino could make a move and fast.
Since joining PSG in 2015, Aurier has been a fan favourite for adventurous displays up and down the right defensive flank. However, the club hasn’t been much impressed with his displays and he saw most of the last season playing second fiddle to Thomas Meunier and managing only 22 appearances as a result. He is clearly looking for first team action elsewhere with previous reports claiming that he hasn’t responded to the club’s offer of a contract extension.
Aurier, quite interestingly, has the attributes to compete in the Premier League and if compared to United’s Darmian, he is definitely superior physically. Not the tallest of players at 175cm, but the player compensates for that through his dribbling and defensive prowess.
