Manchester United have been tipped to complete the signing of a legendary centre-back in the summer, as the club look to tighten up their leaky defence.
In 47 games in all competitions so far this season, Manchester United have conceded a staggering 77 goals, clearly not good enough for a side with greater ambitions of even finishing fourth in the Premier League and reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League - two things they won't have achieved this season.
But while there have been a number of injury issues in defence for Erik ten Hag to contend with, one pundit and former centre-back believes that the Red Devils should put their efforts into bringing Thiago Silva to the club in the summer in a bid to shore the side up.
“I could see Thiago Silva going to another Premier League team in the summer, but the only thing is that he needs to play in a back three. There are teams who play in a three and he’s shown that he can still play," former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson told Paddy Power.
“I think there will be lots of Premier League teams who will be looking at him, even if it’s just for one year with an opportunity to extend, if he’s still good enough.
“I could possibly see him going to Old Trafford in the summer, and you’d know that he would be a good signing for him as long as he can stay fit because he’s been a top player but also he looks fit, and can play the ball out from the back comfortably, which is something that Manchester United haven’t had from their central defenders this season.”
As Lawrenson mentions, Manchester United would have to alter their formation to accommodate Thiago Silva, having utilised a four-at-the-back system for the vast majority of the past two seasons under Erik ten Hag.
Silva, who is 39, is set to leave Chelsea upon the expiry of his contract in the summer, and has been heavily linked with a move back to his native Brazil after 15 years playing in Europe. TNT Sports Brazil, though, report that the central defender could remain in England for at least another season, after receiving offers from three Premier League sides.
In FourFourTwo's view, it seems incredibly unlikely that Manchester United would even consider bringing Thiago Silva to Old Trafford in the summer, regardless of the Brazilian being available for free. He's simply too old for a club with ambitions of returning to the top of the Premier League in the near future, and changing their entire style of play to fit him into the side seems too far-fetched an idea.
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