With Manchester United struggling terribly in their central defensive positions as their primary options Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling out with injury and Mourinho forced to play Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo in that position, United are reportedly looking at a number of options to fill the void.
One of them could be former United centre-back Michael Keane. The 23-year-old is now at Burnley and has been really impressive at the back, to say the least. He has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best young defenders this season and has earned a thoroughly deserved England call-up.
Other clubs like Chelsea and Leicester City are reportedly trying to bring in the player with the later already having a 15 million pounds bid rejected. While Burnley would obviously want the 23-year-old to stay at the club, it seems they cannot hold him for much long.
Reports also say that there is a dispute with the ‘sell-on clause’ in his agreement when United had let him go in 2014. It is understood such an agreement worth up to 20 percent was included and if that is the case then Burnley will have to hold out for a big fee if they do end up selling.
Keane was in the team who won the FA Youth Cup with Lingard and Pogba. Now, while Lingard is more of a first team player and Pogba returning back, Keane’s returning does not seem a distant deal. There is only one problem, however. Keane looks really not interested in returning and has even stated that he wanted to prove United wrong, which he did.
Keane is second among the Premier league’s defenders for headed clearances and only Hull City’s Curtis Davies has made more blocks than Keane’s 13. Burnley recently produced a brilliant performance at Old Trafford a few weeks back, where they held on to a 0-0 draw. United at 37 attempts on goal but still could not find the back of the net and Burnley’s stern defence was commendable.
Burnley are currently in the 9th position of Premier League table and if they continue their disciplined game at the back, Sean Dyche is expected to try everything to keep Keane and continue the successful pairing with Ben Mee. The 6ft 3inch defender started on the right early in his career and has come a long way. United must surely be ruing their decision for letting him go, especially now when teams like Fenerbahce and Chelsea are breaking their defence at will.
