Manchester United could be set to move on a few players during the last few weeks of the summer transfer window as Erik ten Hag aims to streamline his squad.
Brazilian midfielder Fred is looking set to join Turkish side Fenerbahce while a deal to sell Harry Maguire to West Ham United is edging closer.
The defender looks set to end his four year association with the Old Trafford side having joined from Leicester City back in the summer of 2019 for a £80m fee.
How did Harry Maguire perform last season?
The Englishman failed to cement his place in the starting XI under Ten Hag, starting just eight Premier League matches (16 across all competitions) and it’s evident that the Dutchman clearly doesn’t trust him to be a long term member of the squad.
Even when he did get an opportunity in the league, he failed to exert any positive influence, ranking in a lowly 18th place across the United squad for tackles per game (0.5) while ranking outwith the top five for interceptions (0.8) and accurate passes (30.6) per game.
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Ten Hag could use the funds gained from this potential sale of the defender in order to bolster his backline and the Red Devils have recently been linked with a move for Edmond Tapsoba.
Who is Edmond Tapsoba?
Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst tweeted earlier this week that Tapsoba was “of interest” to United heading into the final weeks of the transfer window, with Ten Hag looking for a replacement for Maguire.
The Burkina Faso international has been valued in the region of €50m (£43m) by German side Bayer Leverkusen and he could be a useful signing for the Old Trafford side considering that he is adept at playing out from the defence.
Indeed, when compared to positional peers across Europe’s big five leagues, Tapsoba ranks in the top 7% for both progressive passes (5.78) and progressive carries (1.45) per 90, while he also likes to take on opposition players often, ranking in the top 8% for successful take-ons per 90 (0.58).
Ten Hag looks for his centre-backs to transition the ball from defence to attack on a regular basis and judging by these statistics, he could be a perfect candidate to replace Maguire.
The former Hull City defender in contrast, ranked outside the top 30% for progressive passes (3.01) and successful take-ons (0.26) per 90, while making 0.86 progressive carries per 90, he only ranked in the top 25% and it suggests that his skillset didn’t quite fit with the ideologies of Ten Hag.
Tapsoba was even lauded as “complete and elegant” by talent scout Jacek Kulig back in 2019 as he was making his first forays into the senior game, while “pace, tackling and aerial duels” were listed among his key strengths.
It appears then that not only could be an upgrade on Maguire in terms of his forward thinking mentality, but the 24-year-old could also replace the physical presence of the Englishman at the heart of the United defence.
