According to a recent report by Calciomercato, Manchester United are ready to battle with Chelsea and Juventus in their pursuit of Alessio Romagnoli from AC Milan.
The same source has also revealed that the Red Devils are on the lookout for a new central defender in the summer and have identified the Italian international as an ideal candidate to solve their defensive shortcomings which have plagued them so far in this current campaign.
Romagnoli has been an integral part of Gennaro Gattuso’s first-team this season. He has put in some commanding displays at the back which has helped the Milan side climb up to the 4th spot in the Serie A table. The Anzio-born defender has led his team by example this term and could be a shrewd acquisition for Man United if they can somehow orchestrate a deal for the player next summer.
The AC Milan captain has featured in 27 matches this season and has two goals to his name across all competitions. More importantly, Romagnoli has made 0.9 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game in the Serie A this season so a lot can be expected of him if he does decide to seal a move to Old Trafford at the end of this campaign (Stats taken from Whoscored.com).
Romagnoli is a very competent defender who knows how to make timely interceptions for his team. Moreover, he has a sturdy frame which helps him win a lot of aerial duels. He also has enough pace to recover when left in 1v1 situations.
The addition of Romagnoli would undoubtedly bolster United’s defensive options at the Theatre of Dreams. Ole Gunnar Solskjær currently has some talented centre-backs in his ranks such as Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo. They are all vying for a place in the Man United first-team. The potential acquisition of a top-class defender like Romagnoli will add some much-needed quality to their team and will also increase competition for places within the Red Devils squad.
The Italian talent is very versatile as he can play in multiple positions across the backline. He primarily operates as a centre-back but can also fill in as a left-back if required. Hence, it makes a lot of sense for Ed Woodward and co. to opt for a quality defender such as Romagnoli in the summer transfer period.
