When Chris Smalling became a regular starter and was having an unbelievable year in 2015, it looked more than likely that he was going to finally reach his potential at Manchester United.
Over 18 months later, he has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford as the likes of Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have gained the important trust of manager Jose Mourinho.
Time and time again, questions have been asked as to whether Smalling is talented enough to reach the top level or not, but his dominant presence in the air and no-nonsense clearances from defence has earned him over 150 appearances in the Premier League.
On the other hand, his performances in the cup matches against Hull City and Southampton in the EFL Cup as well as the FA Cup fixture versus Blackburn Rovers and Chelsea have been unconvincing. Despite playing more games than Jones, Smalling has only completed ten tackles and eight interceptions during his 15 league appearances for the Red Devils this campaign.
Currently 27-years-old, it seems clear that his abilities don’t look to be helping himself and his partnership with Eric Bailly at the heart of defence. His passive style, where he has time to make a decision is tolerable, but he can become a weak link when the opposition are applying pressure high up the pitch.
Dream signing – Marquinhos
Paris Saint-Germain’s Marquinhos has established himself as one of the best young centre-backs in European football at the age of 22. The Brazilian has won three domestic league titles in a row with the French club, and is aiming to achieve his fourth this campaign as his team sit in second place at the moment.
Whilst Unai Emery’s side tend to dominate possession from the first minute of the game and create as many chances as possible, Marquinhos and his defensive contributions are not needed regularly, however, he is a very good ball-playing centre-back and is not afraid to progress into the opposition's half with his lightning pace. Completing 48 tackles in Ligue 1, he has made the most of the other options in defence within the PSG squad.
It would certainly not be easy for any of the big teams in Europe to attract him to their club given that he is happy to stay in Paris, but there is a sense that the current league champions will be aiming to add a signing in each position this summer as they aim to make a statement following their embarrassing departure from the Champions League recently. Not performing at the highest level for when the team needed him the most, could leave Marquinhos in a small problem if Emery starts to doubt his capability of showing up in the important fixtures.
A few months before Jose Mourinho was announced as Manchester United’s manager, Marquinhos spoke quite highly of the Portuguese tactician, who could potentially go on to asking Zlatan Ibrahimovic to help him out with a favour, by speaking to his former team-mate from PSG about making a move to Old Trafford in the summer.
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Realistic option – Victor Lindelof
Manchester United were one of the few teams that were interested and had reportedly made an approach for Victor Lindelof during the January transfer window. Nevertheless, a deal of sorts was not put into place and the Benfica defender will once again be a wanted man in the summer. He has formed an unbreakable partnership with Luisao in the centre of defence, which has massively helped Benfica to the top of the league table as the side have conceded only 13 goals so far this campaign.
Having the attribute to play with both feet, his key strength is picking out a pass from his own area with 82% of his passes going forward. As an emergency option, Lindelof has also filled in as a right-back when the side were limited with choices within that position. Following his rise to the Benfica starting XI as a regular starter from the previous season, it led him to a memorable call-up to the senior squad for Sweden in 2016 and he went on to playing for his country during the European Championships in France.
More composed and consistent in defence than Smalling, his presence on and off the ball keeps on growing. Despite getting caught off guard by spending too much time in playing out from the back at the start of the campaign, game by game, he has started to improve on this weakness by being more intelligent and tends to clear his lines more often.
Still only 22-years-old, Lindelof is starting to prove himself at the top level and will get better and better as time goes on. Despite the fee being mentioned by the Portuguese media around £35million to £40million, he would be considering as a fantastic signing and could go on to creating a long-term partnership with Bailly in defence.
Wildcard choice – Michael Keane
The majority of Manchester United fans will remember Michael Keane and his short spell at the club, where he only made one league appearance for the side and spent most of his career out on loan. He has now become the real deal at Burnley, who are 13th in the league, and he seems prepared for an opportunity to play at a top club with this time having more experience under his belt.
Compared to the rest of the defenders within the league; he tops the most aerial duels won with 123, third most clearances with 224 and eleventh most interceptions with 54. On top of that, Keane has blocked 37 shots so far this season and has produced only 11 fouls in 29 league appearances. Despite his game time at Old Trafford being very limited, he has grown into one of the best central defensive players from the bottom half of the Premier League.
Being part of a defence that have conceded 42 goals in the league, just six more than fourth-place Liverpool, Keane should soon deserve a call-up to the national team if his outstanding performances have been witnessed by manager Gareth Southgate. The 24-year-old is rarely caught out of position and has already proved himself against the best strikers in the league in Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Keane would without a doubt step into Smalling’s position with ease, and could also be utilised as a defensive midfielder if you want to consider his attribute of reading the game. It would seem like a risky move to go for player who is yet to show his worth at the highest level, but Keane is the type of individual that has all the abilities that Manchester United need in their defence.
