Victor Lindelöf put up a disastrous show against newly promoted Huddersfield side on Saturday which saw Manchester United give away all three points and now are five points behind their neighbours.
Phil Jones who is an integral part of the backline suffered an injury and was substituted by the Swede which eventually turned out to be the turning point of the match. He was on the back foot straight away as he avoided tackles and aggression. This resulted into shockers of mistakes as both Huddersfield goals came through his sloppiness.
José Mourinho doesn’t trust him yet and he proved why. He was bought by Manchester United for £31m from Benfica. He hasn’t started a game yet and the game where he was substituted in was no less than a start as he got to play about 70 minutes. Instead of tidying up things, he put himself and his team in trouble.
He might not get to feature for Manchester United for a while now. Lindelöf began his career at Swedish club at Vasteras SK from 2009. He then moved to Benfica B before shifting to Benfica where he made 96 and 48 appearances respectively. He has scored for Benfica B on four occasions and two for Benfica.
He was then purchased by Manchester United in the summer transfer window where has made just two appearances. He was a part of the Sweden U-17 squad and has fought his way through to the senior team. He has 16 caps for Sweden and has one goal against Bulgaria.
A fact, that was shockingly missing in his performance against the Terriers, is that he is pretty sound, calm and composed on the pitch and on the ball. He likes to face the challenge and is usually decisive with his passing. With already having been exposed to a lot of football including international caps, he is a man for the future at a mere age of 23. He might not be the sharpest tackler in the world but can be good with his communication and clearances. He is pretty good with his speed for a centre-back too.
He cannot be yet coined as the worst signing of the summer as he is at one of the elite clubs in the world. This was only a blip and no centre back at this level will go on to make such errors regularly. He has a lot of life left at United after the senior players retire, these hurdles will only make him stronger.
The Premier League isn’t an easy league to play in and he needs time to be more effective. One of the best defenders in the league at the moment, Nicolas Otamendi – took the entire last season to get into his own. He was poor for Citizens and made a lot of defending errors last season but is now a part of a sturdy City defence. Hence, a little bit of trust and experience would do good to the Swede.
