FROM Jaap Stam to Steve Bruce, Rio Ferdinand to Gary Pallister, Old Trafford has been home to more than a few legendary centre backs over the years. The fabled ‘Manchester United Way’ might define them in terms of attackers and wingers, but England’s biggest and most successful club has been built on a solid defensive footing.
Of course, it’s difficult to see that right now. United’s defensive line has been a piping hot mess for years, even going back to before Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement. Jose Mourinho made a new centre back a transfer market priority last summer. His spiral and dismissal last season can be traced back to the club’s failure to deliver him one.
Now, the hope is that Harry Maguire will address this defensive deficiency, with the 26-year-old reportedly edging closer to joining the Old Trafford club as the most expensive defender in Premier League history. That both speaks to how highly the Leicester City centre back is rated and also just how desperate United are for a defender like him right now.
Manchester United's offer of £ 60M + £ 20M bonus for Harry Maguire has been accepted by Leicester.#MUFC pic.twitter.com/zJ8yPOsQdL
— Manchester United (@ManUnited_ENG_) July 14, 2019
But is Maguire really worth such fuss? Is he the right man for United? Will he be the next Ferdinand or is he the next Phil Jones? There are, after all, more illustrious, more exotic options out there. Matthijs de Ligt, for instances, is expected to leave Ajax this summer. Kalidou Koulibaly has been mentioned as a potential target for a long time. And Toby Alderweireld is available for just £25 million.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, wants a homegrown core at Old Trafford, leading him to Maguire over other targets. Man Utd have had mixed success over the years in going homegrown, particularly when it comes to signing defenders. For every Ferdinand, there is a Jones. Which will Maguire, assuming he joins United, be?
Phil Jones. I honestly thought he was going to be England captain for years to come when he broke through at us (blackburn). Now he’s a meme pic.twitter.com/ILjFWK3yOG
— Kyle Smith (@KyleJoseph1987) January 18, 2019
Comparisons to Jones might seem somewhat harsh considering how he has become a figure of derision in recent times, but it’s worth recalling just how highly rated he was upon signing for Man Utd in 2011. Back then, he was considered the natural successor to Ferdinand and John Terry at international level. A future England captain in the making. Ferguson even went as far as to claim Jones could become the greatest player in United’s history. His talent, however, was never truly harnessed.
Ferdinand instead still stands as the example to follow for any homegrown defender joining Man Utd. Like Ferdinand was, Maguire is adept at bringing the ball out from the back. But so is Victor Lindelof, his likely centre back partner should a move to Man Utd materialise. How would that pairing work in practice? If Maguire is the new Ferdinand, who is the new Nemanja Vidic, a centre back so uncompromising United fans used to chant about him as a murderer.
“Best player you’ve played against?”
Van Persie: “There was a partnership, Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand.”
Robin knows. #mufc [BBC] pic.twitter.com/jXocs5GAhA
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) May 22, 2019
Of course, top-level football has come a long way since the days of Ferdinand and Vidic as the quintessential centre back pairing. All defenders are now expected to be good on the ball, good at passing out from the back. It’s entirely possible that a pairing of two ball-playing centre backs could work – see Manchester City’s partnership of Aymeric Laporte and John Stones.
Can anyone be the next Ferdinand the way Manchester United currently are, though? Would Ferdinand have been the same legendary figure had he been dropped into Solskjaer’s side? The signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka should help ease some of the burden on United’s centre backs, but their squad is still grossly unbalanced, particularly in midfield.
Ferdinand had the likes of Michael Carrick and Paul Scholes to move the ball on to. Maguire, on the other hand, is leaving a team with one of the best midfield units in the league (Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemens and James Maddison) for a team whose midfield resembles a wasteland right now. He might not be the next Ferdinand, but for Man Utd at this moment that sort of benchmark is reflective of past, not present, expectations.
