It may only be pre-season, but Erik ten Hag wasn’t going to let his defenders off lightly after they conceded against Melbourne Victory on Friday. The new United manager insisted the opening goal was not down to individuals but the entire team for making mistakes as they folded ‘like a pack of cards’ for Chris Ikonomidis to fire beyond Tom Heaton.
Ten Hag knows that improving United’s defensive record this season will not be solely about reinforcing his back line but also about adjusting their tactical approach, though he is also keen for an improvement in quality from his centre-back options.
Lisandro Martinez has arrived in Manchester to complete his move after the club agreed a £46million fee with Ajax. The centre-back will undergo a medical now that he's arrived in the country, and United will also need to secure a visa for the Argentina international. He will then sign a five-year contract worth around £120,000-a-week.
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His arrival is a boost to the United boss, but it brings with it the inevitable consequence of others having to leave to accommodate him.
Phil Jones is not part of the tour as he undergoes his own specialist training programme at Carrington, Axel Tuanzebe hasn’t featured yet and young duo Teden Mengi and Di’Shon Bernard are also being considered for loan exits.
Alex Telles has twice been tasked with filling in as an auxiliary centre-back in pre-season, and it will be fascinating to see where Martinez sits in the hierarchy when he links up with the squad following their pre-season tour.
Harry Maguire, the club captain, is currently top of the rankings, with Raphael Varane second given his woeful injury record. Victor Lindelof appears to be third, given he has started both friendlies so far, and Eric Bailly is fourth, despite decent cameos in each.
Even with a packed fixture schedule next season, it is hard to see Lindelof and Bailly getting the regular playing time they crave, and it seems sensible to move one of them on this summer if an appropriate offer comes in.
Bailly looks the most likely of the two, but in his two summer appearances he has played like a man on a mission, eager to change Ten Hag’s plans, or at the very least, put himself in the shop window.
The Ivorian burst through the Liverpool midfield to set-up Facundo Pellistri earlier in the week and then followed it up with a defence-splitting pass to assist Marcus Rashford on Friday as well.
Bailly, 28, does so much more than a typical centre-back, but it comes at the cost of his inability to do the basics of defence on a reliable basis. Twice he carelessly lost possession against Melbourne Victory with sloppy distribution, and against any elite opposition, United would have conceded clear-cut chances, if not goals.
Bailly might be hugely popular, but he is still far too error-prone a centre-back to be considered next season, though that in itself might provide Ten Hag with his solution.
While the preference might be to cash in on Bailly while his stock has been restored, there is an argument to keep him as a back-up option next season, and even utilise him as a makeshift holding midfielder, such has he impressed in attacking rather than defending this summer.
It might sound ludicrous, but in the opening two pre-season matches, the former Villarreal man has excelled with his dribbling and has broken the lines with a number of key passes, though it has come at the price of defensive discipline and positional awareness.
Bailly still remains far too much of a loose cannon as a defender, but if he is played further up the pitch, those shortcomings can be compensated for by the creativity he has demonstrated already this summer.
The arrival of Martinez means United need to get rid of some defenders this summer, and in doing so, they could gain a new midfield option instead.
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