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Highlights
- Manchester United are exploring the possibility of signing a Premier League left-back.
- They’ve been described as ‘sensational’ and once cost £60m.
- They rank highly for assists and tackles won.
Manchester United haven’t had the desired start to their Premier League campaign, witnessing a real struggle to dominate opponents in their opening fixtures, while injury issues have become a cause for concern for Erik ten Hag.
Now, a new update has emerged on the Red Devils’ attempts to strengthen their squad amid Luke Shaw’s worrying injury blow.
Who could replace Luke Shaw at Man United?
According to The Athletic, Manchester United are “exploring” a deal to sign Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella before the Friday deadline.
On Twitter, the publication revealed:
“Manchester United are exploring a move for Marc Cucurella after Luke Shaw was ruled out for an extended period with a muscle injury.”
Following up in an article, The Athletic’s Pol Ballus claimed that Man United and Chelsea have held informal talks about a potential loan deal for the season ahead, as he is considered a short-term replacement for Shaw.
How good is Marc Cucurella?
It will come as no surprise that Man United are desperately searching for full-back reinforcements in the dying days of the summer transfer window, as both Shaw and Tyrell Malacia will be unavailable for the foreseeable.
Shaw is due to be out of action until November following a muscle injury, whilst his understudy Malacia has an ongoing knee injury that has seen him ruled out for the entirety of the season so far and has a similar recovery timeline as his teammate.
As a result, it is imperative that Ten Hag secures the services of a left-back who can not only replace the quality and availability missing on the left flank but a player who can make an instant impact at Old Trafford, with Cucurella’s Premier League and Champions League experience a huge advantage in their search.
The Chelsea star has struggled to make the desired impact at Stamford Bridge since his £60m move from Brighton and Hove Albion last summer, with Ben Chilwell the favoured starting option for Mauricio Pochettino so far, whilst youth prospect Ian Maatsen has moved up the pecking order to become the second in command.
This sparks an opportunity for the Man United boss to repeat his Mason Mount masterclass by diving back into Chelsea’s ranks again. Mount, who is yet to score in United colours, may well have had a difficult start to life at Old Trafford but like his former teammate in Cucurella has proven himself at top-flight level before.
Indeed, Ten Hag could offer Cucurella a second chance at first-team football, which will likely be an attractive prospect for the left-back and presents the Blues with the chance to further offload another player who doesn’t make the cut.
Despite his difficult start to life in West London, the £175k-per-week Spaniard – once hailed “sensational” by journalist Josh Bunting – ranked in the top 20% of his Premier League positional peers last season for assists, pass completion, passes into the final third, tackles won, dribblers tackled and touches per 90 minutes played, as per FBref.
Not only that, Cucurella shared a number of similarities in his output compared to Shaw last season, with the pair coming close in goal contributions (2 v 3), pass completion (84.3% v 83.7%), successful take-ons (35.7% v 35.9%) and aerial duels won (55.2% v 61.3%), proving that he could be a worthy short-term solution to Ten Hag’s biggest headache.
With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Man United to snap up the services of Cucurella for the season ahead, as his wealth of experience and similarities to Shaw would surely offer Ten Hag a player who can quickly slot into the team at Old Trafford.