After a difficult summer transfer window, in which Manchester United didn’t get any of their top defensive targets, the Old Trafford club are now being linked with a move for French World Cup winner Lucas Hernandez.

The defender currently plays at Atletico Madrid but is he the answer to the defensive problems that currently engulf the Red Devils?

It’s difficult to say.

Firstly, he’s not your usual Jose Mourinho signing as he’s still young and developing. As we know, Jose prefers going out and buying experience professionals, that’s why United were keen on Lucas’ veteran Atletico teammate Diego Godin. The pursuit of Hernandez would suggest that he’s more of a board friendly purchase as he’s young and could potentially grow in value.

Now maybe the United hierarchy and Jose have come to a compromise, who knows?

Then there’s the potential fee.

Earlier in the year the twenty-two year old Frenchman signed a new contract with the La Liga side that will keep him there until 2024. That new deal saw his release clause rise to a whopping £72m. You can bet your bottom dollar that Diego Simeone will want close to that figure if he’s to contemplate selling the highly regarded defender. United have the funds to mount that kind of offer but it’s a lot on potential.

People will see his versatility as great thing but I’m not overly sure that’s what Man United currently need at the moment. Hernandez was played as a left-back during the World Cup for France and he’s also played in that position for Los Rojiblancos this term.

United don’t currently need a left-back, they need a domineering centre half.

Now I know he’s more than capable of playing centrally but the quickest the deal can be done is January and he could’ve played as a full-back in all that time. Meaning he might find it difficult to convert back into a central defender.

Lucas is aggressive and that could be important as Man Utd need stronger players in their backline. Om his single La Liga appearance this term Hernandez has won four tackles, three headers and made three clearances. Last season his stats were on average 3.4 tackles per league game, 1.5 interceptions, 2.1 clearances and won around 1.6 headers.

You then have to wonder if the young defender would want to make the switch to the Premier League?

Fellow French stars Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba have reportedly fallen out with Mourinho during their time at United and that might put Hernandez off.

After signing his new deal the twenty-two year old happily stated:

“Atletico Madrid are the club of my life, they’ve given me everything and I’m very happy with my renewal because it was what I wanted most.

“They’ve always trusted me, since I came into the youth team and gambled on me, I’m very grateful.”

Now money talks and he could be persuaded to move to Old Trafford but it doesn’t really sound like he’s ready to depart the Wanda Metroplitano just yet.

In all honesty, I don’t think Hernandez could walk into the Man United team and solve all their problems.

I think if Manchester United could go out and bring in Hernandez and a more experienced star like Toby Alderweierld then that could go a long way to giving them a better backline.

Some state that Man Utd have already spent big on their defence but just look at the money that Manchester City have given Pep Guardiola to improve their defensive spine. Not all of those signings were great but that just meant they went out and brought someone else in (Think Claudio Bravo and Ederson).

To fix the problem it’s going to take some hard cash and the club will need to back their manager or get rid of him. I doubt it will be fixed by just one new face!

Posted on September 5th, 2018 by scott
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