Manchester United transfer targets: How De Ligt and Mazraoui could transform Ten Hag’s defence

Despite finishing the 2023/24 season with silverware, Manchester United will not want to dwell too much on a historically poor campaign.

Erik ten Hag’s men ended with a negative Premier League goal difference (57 scored, 58 conceded), a feat the Red Devils hadn’t achieved since 1989/90 (-1 on both occasions). Moreover, the record 20-time English champions finished in eighth place, their lowest position since coming 13th under Alex Ferguson in 1990.

Even more damning was the fact that only relegated Sheffield United (678) faced more shots than Manchester United (667) during Ten Hag’s second season in charge, but as the old D:Ream song went, things can only get better, and there are already murmurs of defensive reinforcements, though it’s worth pointing out Ten Hag was dealt a bad hand last term.

Injuries robbed the Dutchman of picking a settled team, and nowhere was it more symbolic than in the heart of defence. Raphaël Varane and Jonny Evans started more games together than any other United centre-back combination in the 2023–24 season, but they only did so six times. Harry Maguire and Varane, Varane and Lisandro Martínez, and Maguire and Evans all started four games together.

Varane and Martinez were considered to be United’s preferred defensive duo before Varane left Old Trafford this summer. The fact that Ten Hag could only field them together in 11% of their Premier League games last season highlighted the difficulty he encountered.

The loss of Varane and question marks hanging over Victor Lindelöf and Maguire’s futures, coupled with concerns over Martínez staying healthy for a suitable period, have seen United linked with former Ten Hag protégé Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich) having already signed Leny Yoro from Lille, though he sustained an injury in pre-season delaying his official debut.

Both, under the age of 25 with plenty of upside, are long-term investments that could make a difference to Manchester United’s fortunes. The potential arrival of both could lead to a new central defensive partnership, or Ten Hag might pair a new player with an existing one, or try a new strategy that he hasn’t used in a while.

De Ligt x Martínez

This is an equally straightforward combination between a predominantly right-footed centre-back and another left-footed, as they come. It also sees two CBs from Ten Hag’s tenure in Amsterdam come together, having never played together as De Ligt left before Martínez’s arrival.

This would resemble De Ligt’s relationship with Blind, as Martínez would be the senior figure. Given their Ajax history, this could allow Ten Hag to finally recreate that playing style, at least from what he expects from his central defenders. Here, you will see Man Utd only play horizontally after a vertical pass; a case in point being when the centre-backs go out with the ball, opening up the field and moving wider so the right or left-back can join the midfield line.

Ten Hag has previously talked about it: the centre-backs provoke the opponent, invite them forward, then if the opponent applies quick pressure, the ball goes to the other central defender, who then makes a vertical pass.

Both centre-backs are comfortable in possession; in the season just gone, the best pass success rates for Man Utd in the Premier League were Martínez (93%), Lindelöf (89.5%), and Varane (89.3%). Meanwhile, only Jonathan Tah (94.7%) returned a better pass success rate than De Ligt (94%) in the 2023/24 Bundesliga campaign.

If we break that down even further, 29.19% of Martinez’s passes were forward, with an accuracy of 79.07%, while De Ligt’s read 28.51% and 85.55%, respectively, suggesting Man Utd would be in good hands with defenders capable of breaking the lines and starting attacks.

But that’s one facet of a modern defender, and the bread and butter remain warding off opposition forwards. De Ligt further complements Martínez, who won an average of only 0.6 aerial duels per 90 minutes last season, resulting in an aerial success rate of just 44.4%. De Ligt averaged 2.7 aerial wins per 90 minutes in Germany’s top division, with a 58.6% success rate in his headed battles.

As mentioned, one particular task for De Ligt, Martínez and Yoro is opening up the field and moving wider so the right or left back can join the midfield line. This is where someone like Noussair Mazraoui can come into his own. Having already been linked with a Premier League move this summer, the Moroccan international has opted to reunite with Ten Hag, who broke him into professional football.

Mazraoui made his name as a marauding full-back. Though curiously, like Trent Alexander-Arnold, the native of Leiderdorp was raised as a midfielder and made his first-team debut there—albeit a one-minute cameo against NAC Breda at home in February 2018.

A move to Old Trafford would see Mazraoui potentially unlocking Antony’s potential. They played 47 games together at Ajax, where the much-maligned Brazilian forward managed 13 goals and eight assists when they shared the pitch, while Mazraoui chipped in with three and four of his own. However, they provided one goal contribution: Antony assisted by Mazraoui in Ajax’s 5-0 rout of Vitesse in September 2021.

His arrival coincides with Aaron Wan-Bissaka leaving for West Ham, and they couldn’t be any more different. While there aren’t many better one-on-one defenders in the world, there’s no denying Wan-Bissaka’s technical shortcomings, especially in the attacking third. Over the past two years, on a per-90-minute basis, Mazraoui has been better at creating chances, registering 1.35 compared to Wan-Bissaka’s 0.76. This puts Mazraoui in the top 87% among full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues over that time.

Mazraoui isn’t as dominant in one-on-one situations as Wan-Bissaka, but his success rate in ground duels over the past two seasons was still fairly impressive at 62.4%, putting him in the top 89% for full-backs. This rate is higher than the Hammers’ new defender, who has a 61.1% success rate.

De Ligt x Martínez x Yoro

How about featuring all three? It’s a strong possibility given Ten Hag’s past. He has yet to play such a system with Man United, having only done so once with Ajax, a game that featured De Ligt in the backline and André Onana in goal. That’s not to say it’s an alien concept to him, considering it was somewhat commonplace during his brief spell at Utrecht, where he experimented with formations such as 5-3-2, 4-4-2 diamond, and 3-5-2.

With the Amsterdammers, it was a more adventurous 3-4-2-1 with two number 10s behind a centre forward. You can already imagine how it could play out; that’s not to say it’s defensively negative as De Ligt, Martínez, and Yoro are comfortable in possession, and two could easily move into midfield whenever United has the ball.

This would also allow for the use of wing-backs. Luke Shaw can effectively push forward on the left side, and the same goes for Mazraoui on the right.

Though it’s worth noting Shaw’s fitness issues, he missed 34 matches last season due to a muscle injury and featured in 12 league outings, completing the full 90 minutes on seven occasions while not making a single-goal contribution.

So it stands to reason that United would seek out another left-back, especially with Shaw’s current understudy, Tyrell Malacia, sidelined. The former Feyenoord full-back, who joined in 2022, is nursing a knee injury and couldn’t add to his 22 league appearances last term.

But it wouldn’t be too surprising if Ten Hag decides to solve the problem in-house, with Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot capable of playing on the left side of the defence.

De Ligt x Yoro

As rare as it may sound, it’s not too uncommon for a club to sign two new central defenders and throw them together into the deep end. This solution to United’s woes must require the patience of the highest order as both will be assimilating into their new environment simultaneously. One advantage each has is familiarity working in Ten Hag’s set-up, whether already playing for the Red Devils boss or a prospective assistant coach.

De Ligt had long broken through at boyhood club Ajax before Ten Hag began to mould him into one of Europe’s most impressive young centre-backs. Renowned for leadership and technical ability beyond his years, De Ligt excelled in a system designed to accentuate his strongest traits and minimize any weaknesses.

A supremely gifted ball carrier, De Ligt partnered with the more experienced Daley Blind, who enabled him to drive Ajax forward. Subsequent big moves to Juventus and Bayern Munich have seen flashes of his brilliance, though they’ve been too fleeting, and injuries have become a bane to his existence.

Yoro, who is seven years younger than De Ligt, received a formal education in Ligue 1, where some of Europe’s finest centre-backs are developed. While at the former French champions, Yoro crossed paths with Paulo Fonseca, who has since praised the teenager as a future top central defender in the world.

Unfortunately, a knock against Arsenal in a summer-friendly has sidelined him until October. The partnership with De Ligt looks promising on paper because of the balance between an aggressive player winning aerial and ground duels, and another who can build up play from the back.