Manchester United look to be a different side under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The club has gone back to an attacking ethos but even with that the defence has also become more of a solid unit than it was under former gaffer Jose Mourinho.

That being said I still believe that Ole, or any new United boss, would want to bring in a new centre-half when the summer transfer window reopens in the summer.

Man United have been linked with a host of central defenders recently.

The Manchester Evening News suggested in February that the Old Trafford club were lining up a world record swoop to bring in highly rated Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly. While The Sun believe that Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar tops United’s summer transfer wishlist.

But if the Premier League giants want to look away from Italy for a new defensive recruit, then they might be best served looking at Bayer Leverkusen stalwart Jonathan Tah.

The twenty-three year old has been one of the Bundesliga’s top defenders this term. His performances have helped get Leverkusen up to sixth position in German’s top tier.

At 6ft 5in the big centre-back can dominate when the ball comes into his team’s half of the field. According to Whoscored, Tah has made on average 4.5 clearances and wins 2.1 aerial duels per Bundesliga outing. He also makes 1.7 tackles per match.

He isn’t a clumsy or dangerous defender, proven by the fact that he’s only received two yellow cards this term.

That strong, confident presence in beside a more mature Chris Smalling or a rejuvenated Victor Lindelof could give Man United a very strong partnership for next season.

But Tah is also very good on the ball. He remains calm and collected, plus he doesn’t mind a dribble or two either. So far this season, Jonathan has a superb 89% passing success rate and he makes around 70 passes per game too.

The young defender has four international caps to his name. With German head coach Joachim Löw recently stating that he’ll no longer pick experienced defensive duo Jerome Boateng or Mats Hummels, Jonathan Tah could now cement his place within the German national team.

Former national team coach and current Leverkusen director Rudi Voeller told his club’s website that he believe’s Jonathan is a top,top talent:

“Jonathan has progressed fantastically at Leverkusen, exceeded our expectations and is now one of the top German defenders. A number of top clubs have shown an interest in him.”

Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and FC Barcelona have all been linked with Tah in the past.

The German centre-back seems to have all the qualities needed to help solidify Manchester United’s defence. He might not be as proven as a Koulibaly but that will mean that he’d cost less in the transfer market.

Man United have a history of bringing in growing potential and turning them into world class stars. If they were to bring in Jonathan Tah then maybe they could do the same with the talented centre-half.

Posted on March 9th, 2019 by scott
Filed under: Article