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Right-back has been a problem area for Manchester United for a while now.
While Aaron Wan-Bissaka is arguably the best defender in the world when it comes to defensive one-on-ones, his attacking output is not at an elite level.
Diogo Dalot has had many opportunities to stake his claim for that spot, but the Portuguese international is too prone to switching off for him to be the first choice for a club of United’s stature.
This means that United have been linked with a host of right-backs over the years from the likes of Denzel Dumfries to Jeremie Frimpong to Vanderson.
It now seems that United are actually looking to sign someone much younger as a longer term investment in that position.
According to TeamTalk, both Manchester sides (United and City) have made contact to sign 17-year-old Sam Curtis from St Patrick’s Athletic.
Despite his young age, Curtis has emerged as one of the top prospects in Irish football and is believed to be close to a full call up to the senior national side.
As well as United and City, the publication claims that the likes of Everton, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Tottenham, Sheffield United, Hull City and Middlesbrough are also showing interest in signing Curtis.
For those who have not heard much of Curtis, the right-back was named as Republic of Ireland Under-18 Player of the Year for 2022 at the FAI International Football Awards and has made 61 senior career appearances, while scoring three goals, for his club side in Ireland.
In the recent past, United have made efforts to improve their recruitment of young talent, with changes announced to their scouting setup as well as new staff brought into the club to help accelerate that process. With United needing a permanent solution for that right-back position and the club approaching St Patrick’s Athletic to discuss a move for Curtis, this could be one to look out for in the coming weeks and months.
