Who United should sign to partner Maguire

By Josh Coleman, published on 30/05/21

In the coming transfer window, the United scouting department have a tough choice in deciding who they should sign to partner captain Harry Maguire. According to the rumours, we seem to have narrowed down our shortlist to two options. Pau Torres from Villareal, and Raphael Varane from Real Madrid. Using stats from the 20/21 season, I will discuss the two players and how they would fit into our system, as well as the possible cons that may come to fruition.

First of all, Pau Torres is a Spanish 24 year old defender who currently plays for Villareal. Making 33 league appearances this season, Torres has established himself as one of the best up and coming defenders in world football. He has been widely recognised as not just an out and out defender, but someone who is good at linking the play between midfield and defence.

With an average of 0.8 successful dribbles (at a success rate of 83%) a game alongside 4.5 long balls per game. In comparison to Victor Lindelof, makes 0.1 successful dribbles a game (with a success rate of only 50%), and only 2.1 long balls on average per game with a much lower success rate. This therefore suggests to us that Pau Torres would be a progressive player for us, enabling greater fluidity in the movement of the ball from defence to midfield. This is something that at times we have lacked, especially in recent games in the absence of Harry Maguire, which meant the movement of the ball through the team was often uncomfortable and had no end result.

Torres is a player who regularly performs at a very good standard. Turning up in big games against Barcelona, in which he got himself an assist, and displaying strength in both aerial and ground duels, winning 11 of his 15 overall duals. As well as this, he put up a very solid audition in the Europa League final, scoring his penalty and again displaying a defensively solid performance.

Despite this, there are reasons for why we might not want to sign Torres. Positionally, Torres sits in the left side of defence, and has very rarely been shifted out to the right side. This would then mean either shifting Maguire from the left side, or shifting Torres. This is therefore a risk, and brings into question how well the two can play together and hold the defence. Similarly, Utd have found issues from crosses and set pieces, and there is very little data to suggest that signing Pau Torres would solve this. Between him and Lindelof, there is only a 3% difference between their aerial dual success percentage. Torres at 62%, and Lindelof at 59%. So therefore to solve this, Pau Torres may not be the man for Utd to sign.

The second option for Man Utd, is the French Raphael Varane. At 28 years old, we could have an incredibly seasoned defender, who has played at the top level of European football for many years. Varane is a serial winner, someone who has been part of not only title winning sides but sides that have gone onto win European titles, with four UCL’s to his name.

With Varane you know you are getting an incredibly strong defender. As well as that you are getting a very solid and consistent player, who you are able to depend upon. Losing possession only 6.8 times per game, less than both Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire. He also holds a higher success rate in both aerial and ground duels combined, at 68%, than any other Man Utd defender. So therefore Raphael Varane would bring a new level of defensive stability to this utd side, and would likely be one of the best CB’s in the league.

Despite how defensively dominant Varane is, his ball play can at times be his downside. While being competent on the ball, Varane doesn’t have the creative and progressive passing ability as others. With even Victor Lindelof, at 0.2 per game, making more key passes than Varane who runs at a relatively low 0.1 per game. Suggesting that this signing wouldn’t necessarily improve the transition play from defence into attack.

As well as this, in previous seasons, Varane has shown indications of being slightly injury prone, with a recurring muscle issue that saw him miss several games from 2016- 2019. However, this issue has not occurred since so may well not be an issue, just could be worth noting due to the physical demands of the Premier League, that this may well flare up again

While the two players would both be very good additions to our squad, we would only sign one of them if these rumours are true, and I would argue the best option is Varane. This is because, while Pau Torres is younger, and would offer Ole the option to use a left foot and right foot combination, his signing would mean either he or Harry Maguire would have to move from their usual position in defence. While this may only seem a minor issue, a defender who isn't comfortable on their side of the defence, will only lead to a continuation of our issues of poor defensive positioning and mistakes.

Varane on the other hand, would partner up with Harry Maguire much more comfortably as he would slot into that right hand side of defence. He has vast experience at the top level, as well as being paired with one of the best defenders of our generation, Sergio Ramos, undoubtedly giving him huge amounts of experience. This therefore means that Raphael Varane, for me, would be the best choice for Utd to partner Maguire at the back next season.

(Data: Sofascore & TransferMarkt)