Siddharth Juyal
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag wants to sign Paris Saint-Germain defender Nordi Mukiele in the January transfer window.
Erik ten Hag has seen his side struggle with the injury crisis and performances are way below the standard expected at Manchester United.
The Dutchman has invested plenty in the transfer market as United are in the 2nd season under his reign. Ten Hag guided United to end the six-year trophy draught in his first season and helped them achieve Champions League qualification.
United’s net spending of around £330m under Ten Hag shows that the manager has received strong backing. However, the 53-year-old wants more recruitment to instil the style of play that earned him a reputation and success at Ajax.
The Red Devils are currently 10th in the Premier League table after a horrible start to the season. United also lost their first two Champions League Group A game.
Ten Hag is exploring internal solutions, but it appears inevitable that they will need to utilize the January transfer window.
Manchester Evening News reported that the Red Devils are planning to strengthen their fullback department. Additionally, United wants to address three other areas during the next summer transfer window.
Football Transfers (h/t Manchester Evening News) claim that Mukiele is a January transfer target for the Red Devils. A long-term injury has sidelined United’s primary right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, leaving Diogo Dalot as the only available option.
Wan-Bissaka and Dalot are both quite similar in their style of play as they’re defensively very strong. However, while their offensive ability is good, it does not reach the level expected at a top club in modern football.
Mukiele is an all-round fullback with strong attacking abilities and more than decent defensive skills and work-rate.
The 25-year-old has a physically dominating build while standing at six feet two inches tall and great engine. Mukiele is versatile enough to play as both a right-back and a centre-back for his team if required. The France international is brilliant on the ball with the technical ability to put in threatening crosses. Mukiele has decent tackling ability while he is also incredibly handy in putting pressure and closing down spaces.
The Frenchman is struggling to get any minutes at PSG this season behind Achraf Hakimi. Hakimi is one of the best right-back in the world so it is understandable that he is first-choice at PSG.
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Dalot’s performance struggles, combined with Wan-Bissaka’s proneness to injury, make Mukiele a wise target for Ten Hag. We will have to wait and see whether the Dutchman will act on his desire to secure the Frenchman as time runs out for both Dalot and Wan-Bissaka.
