Three Central Defenders Manchester United Must Target This January

The departures of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand over the summer meant that Manchester United needed to invest heavily in central defensive reinforcements if the club wanted to have a seamless transition this season. But not only did that reinforcement not come, the arrival of Marcos Rojo notwithstanding, injuries at the start of the season has left the squad thread bare, especially in central defence.

With Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling out injured and Tyler Blackett, a youngster who had only made his debut at the start of the season suspended, the club had to throw in an 19-year-old midfielder in central defence against West Ham. Although Paddy McNair, who had previously played in central defence for the reserve side did well on debut, it merely highlighted the fact that the club really buy some central defenders in the upcoming window.

Unfortunately for Manchester United, imperious and imposing central defenders are hard to come by these days. Especially when you are looking for players who can command and lead the defence. With long-time target Mats Hummels already pledging his future to Borussia Dortmund for the foreseeable, the Red Devils’ options are certainly limited in terms of who they could sign.

But here are three central defenders that the club could possibly sign either in the January transfer window or over the summer to improve their creaking and injury-prone defence.

Gerard Pique

As ridiculous as this might seem, Gerard Pique would be a valuable addition to the United squad. Given the state of flux that the current Barcelona squad is in, under new manager Luis Enrique, the 27-year-old might make a return to Old Trafford next summer. The arrival of Mathieu and Vermaelen and the emergence of Marc Batra means that the Spanish international has so far seen very little game time.

The main reason why the central defender in 2008 to join Barcelona, aside from it being his hometown club, was the fact that he wanted regular first-team football. Since that is looking unlikely now, Pique might just be tempted to move back to Manchester, even if Shakira isn’t all for it. In purely footballing terms, the addition of World Cup and European Championship winning centre back, who is good in the air and can play out of defence would be a dream signing for the Red Devils.

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Inigo Martinez

When you talk about strong, combative, tough-tackling central defenders, Spain would hardly be your first destination of choice. But Inigo Martinez’s performances over the past 18 months have put him on the radar of a lot of big clubs. The 23-year-old who currently plays for Real Sociedad, was a team-mate of David De Gea in the Spanish U21 side who won the UEFA European U21 Championship in 2013.

The left-footed centre back, like most Spanish players is comfortable on the ball, but what differentiates his from the rest is his strength and aerial ability. Although he isn’t the tallest of central defender, what he lacks in height, he more than makes up for in his tenacity to win the ball. Technically gifted, strong in the air and a timely goal scorer, the Spaniard would certainly add some steel to the United defence, which has been found wanting this season.

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Matija Nastasic

If it is a young, commanding, strong centre back that Manchester United are searching for, they could do a lot worse than go to their city rivals City and check out their out-of-favour centre back Matija Nastasic. After struggling to break through last season, this was looking like a defining season for the 21-year-old Serbian centre back, but the club’s acquisition of Eliaquim Mangala means that he is further down the pecking order this time around.

Although Manchester City aren’t too keen on selling him, if the Red Devils can match or slightly improve on the £12 million that City paid for him in 2012, they could very well get their hands on the Serbian centre back. The Serbian’s technique and tactical awareness would prove to be a invaluable asset to the Red Devils, who will be getting a quintessential modern centre back who is equally adept at going forward or defending.