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Left-back was a problem position for Manchester United last season.
Both Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia were out for vast portions of the campaign through injury.
This meant that the defence was really struggling on that side of the pitch.
Erik ten Hag had to come up with some alternative solutions for that role.
At times, he played Diogo Dalot there. On other occasions, he tried Sofyan Amrabat in what was a failed experiment.
With the loss of Lisandro Martinez on that side of the defence also, United were regularly destroyed on the left side of their defence.
So it’s no surprise that the team are looking for solutions.
Despite making it to the UEFA Euro 2024 squad for England, Luke Shaw wasn’t fit for the majority of the group stages. And despite showing images of him training this pre-season, Malacia is still not seemingly ready for football action.
A solution is definitely required here if the Red Devils are to make a better showing in defence this upcoming season.
And it seems that they’ve identified a three-man shortlist to strengthen the squad in the left-back position.
Left-back shortlist revealed
According to The Mirror, the United hierarchy are scouring the transfer market for a new left-back to start the new season.
And one of the names will be very familiar to English football fans.
Feyenoord defender David Hancko, Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell and former Chelsea and Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso are supposedly the names being discussed for transfer.
There’s a lot to unpack there.
Let’s first look at Tyrick Mitchell.
It’s believed that the 24-year-old London born player may be available for a cut-price fee due to the fact that he only has 12 months left on his contract.
David Hancko has been linked to Liverpool Football Club, whose new head coach is former Feyenoord manager Arne Slot. However, so far, the 26-year-old has remained in the Netherlands. Hancko can play in both the centre-back and left-back positions.
And then there’s Alonso.
A free agent after leaving Barcelona in the summer, this is not the first time that the Spaniard has been linked with United.
Last summer window, his name was linked to Old Trafford before the club instead signed Sergio Reguilon on loan. It seems that his name is still in the memory bank of the club as it appears they’re looking at him again.
Alonso famously played for top-four rivals Chelsea and has even scored two goals against United in the English Premier League. Both of those goals actually came at Old Trafford.
Could Alonso be back out at Old Trafford, but this time in a red shirt? If he does, it would surely be one of the strangest transfers of the summer.
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