The 2021/22 season was a dismal one for Manchester United as they suffered their worst campaign in Premier League history, with their total of 57 goals conceded the most they have conceded in a single campaign.
As a result, it has perhaps been no surprise to see new Red Devils manager Erik ten Hag look to improve the United defence this summer, already parting with £14.7m to sign Tyrell Malacia from Feyenoord and £57m to reunite with Lisandro Martinez from Ajax.
The pair have taken United’s spending on defenders since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013 to a whopping £423m. The Scot left the Red Devils as Premier League champions, yet they have failed to win the league in the nine years since his exit.
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Moreover, they have only added one FA Cup, one League Cup, one Europa League and two Community Shields to their trophy cabinet. With Ferguson famously claiming during his 27-year stint in charge of an all-conquering United that, “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles,” it’s easy to see what has gone wrong.
That £423m has been spent on 17 defenders. From the previous 15, none can be regarded as unmitigated successes, with a feeling of inconsistent indifference or juries still out the best any can hope for. Meanwhile, only eight remain at Old Trafford.
When you consider that Martinez becomes the seventh senior centre-back in Ten Hag’s squad while Malacia becomes the fourth left-back, the imbalance at United is crystal clear. Littered with defensive failings whose arrivals were meant to prompt a return to the success of the Ferguson glory days, the Red Devils’ latest manager now has 13 senior defenders to pick from.
Meanwhile, the Argentine’s arrival also means United have spent big on a centre-back for the fifth time in the past seven summers, having brought in Eric Bailly in a £30m deal from Villarreal in 2016, Victor Lindelof for £39.5m from Benfica in 2017, Harry Maguire for £80m from Leicester City in 2019 and Raphael Varane for £41m from Real Madrid last year. The fact all four remain on the books, along with the often-injured Phil Jones, who was meant to be a long-term answer when signed by Ferguson back in 2011 but has made just six Premier League appearances over the past three years, highlights their chaotic transfer approach as they desperately try in vain, without a plan, to strengthen their back four.
And then there is the talk of Aaron Wan-Bissaka reportedly being deemed surplus to requirements following Ten Hag’s appointment, just three years on from his arrival from Crystal Palace.
It’s a stark contrast to Liverpool ’s own defensive fortunes, with the Reds infamously known for their leaky backline before Jurgen Klopp implemented his first upheaval.
Prior to the German’s arrival at Anfield in October 2015, the closest Liverpool had come to winning the Premier League title came in 2013/14. Yet despite finishing second, they would concede a whopping 50 goals with defensive woes, never more so than in their 3-3 collapse against Crystal Palace, ultimately their undoing.
Klopp saw this and quickly got to work, bringing in Joel Matip and Ragnar Klavan during his first summer in charge at Anfield. But it was until the 2017/18 season where he was truly able to transform the Reds’ defensive fortunes.
Andy Robertson was signed from Hull City in a £10m deal in the summer of 2017, but took his time to settle at Anfield, while Liverpool were forced to step away from a deal for Virgil van Dijk after upsetting Southampton. Rather than target an alternative centre-back, despite outside criticism, the Reds instead waited for the Dutchman and signed him in a club-record £75m deal the following January. His arrival saw their defensive fortunes transformed virtually overnight.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold also emerging from Liverpool’s academy, Klopp has ultimately had to do minimal work to his defence ever since, with the £36m signing of Ibrahima Konate last summer the first transfer really brought in to change the pecking order since January 2018.
Meanwhile, teenage right-back Calvin Ramsay became the Reds’ ninth permanent defensive signing under the German earlier this summer, taking his spending on defenders to £147.75m. With over half of that spent on Van Dijk, it’s amazing what the right signing can do.
And with the likes of Ramsay identified as a real prospect who can develop and play exactly as Klopp wants his full backs to play, the Reds' defensive strategy is clear when it comes to both long-term success and succession with regards to their 'retain and refresh' approach. As a result, there is no defensive overload at Anfield, with Rhys Williams the latest youngster to depart on loan in search of first team opportunities.
After Ben Davies' move to Rangers, they are left with six senior centre-backs, two senior right-backs and two senior left-backs on their books. Yet, Nat Phillips and Sepp van den Berg are also likely to depart for game-time elsewhere.
And what’s telling about the majority of Klopp’s defensive recruits is Liverpool’s desire to wait for the right player rather than just fill a void. Before signing Robertson, with the Reds in need of a new left-back, James Milner spent a season as a makeshift solution in the role. And they proceeded with what they had with Matip, Klavan, Dejan Lovren and Joe Gomez for the first half of 2017/18 after being made to wait for Van Dijk.
They also persisted with the likes of Milner and Gomez as makeshift back-ups to Alexander-Arnold and Robertson before moving for natural deputies in Ramsay and Kostas Tsimikas. And while an unprecedented defensive crisis in 2020/21 made them pay for not signing a new centre-back at the start of that season, Konate’s impact has again justified the club’s stance to play the waiting game for the long-term option before the right player becomes available.
While Klopp listened to Ferguson's famous advice about defences and winning titles, to turn his side from doubters into believers and failing top four wannabes into champions of everything, the Scot's former side clearly haven't. And Red Devils bosses are well aware of the club's modern failings as a result.
Manchester United Chief Executive Richard Arnold was filmed slaughtering the club’s transfer approach earlier this summer, as he bemoaned how the Red Devils had “f*****g burned through cash.”
“We spent a billion pounds on players. We have spent more than anyone in Europe,” he said. “I’m not thrilled where we are. It doesn’t sit easy with me and I worry how we get this sorted for the future. What’s happened is we have f*****g burned through cash.
“You can’t go to our training ground and say ‘show me where the £1billion is' because we haven’t spent money well historically. I’m not here to defend [chairman] Joel [Glazer]. He must speak for himself.
“But you have taken the time to come here and make your views known - and I respect that. We’ve blown through an enormous amount of money.”
Whether United have learned their lesson or not remains to be seen, but they have repeatedly been shown up by Liverpool’s approach in contrast to their own. Forgetting Ferguson's famous adage, their squad is littered with these ill-advised, costly signings as a reminder of their frequent mistakes, amid a repetitive scattergun attempt to rectify such errors.
Now they need Martinez to change that narrative and have a similar impact to Van Dijk’s at Anfield. However, their transfer history suggests that is more a desperate hope than an expectation.
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