Manchester United are slowly regaining their form in the Premier League, claiming a second 1-0 win, this time against Luton Town on Saturday. But coach Erik Ten Hag is still sweating over the increasingly long injury list, with the two latest cases being Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund.
The defense is the area most affected. Recent reports confirm Jonny Evans will be sidelined for several weeks, adding to the losses of Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Lisandro Martinez. And Raphael Varane will continue to be unused because of his poor performance, which further increases the difficulties for the Dutch teacher. It’s clear that the Old Trafford team needs to recruit a new player for their defensive line next January.
Many potential defenders have been linked with a move to the Theater of Dreams over the winter, with the name Goncalo Inacio once again attracting a lot of attention recently.
Inacio is a hot name in the technology market right now.
This player has plenty of appeal to Ten Hag. Being left-footed, he could be the perfect backup plan for Lisandro Martinez when Manchester United currently does not have a left-footed midfielder to replace the Argentine.
Initially, it seemed that the Sporting Lisbon star would not be on the Portuguese team’s transfer list in January. But now it looks like Sporting will reap the big bucks with Inacio in the crosshairs with various clubs.
While previously Liverpool were thought to be leading in this race, the situation appears to have changed. According to AS (via Sport Witness), Manchester United is Inacio’s top priority among Premier League teams. This newspaper also said that the Red Devils are also “very interested” and can prove themselves to be a “big opponent” in this player dispute.
Real Madrid is also paying close attention to the Portuguese midfielder. They are said to be prepared to meet his 60 million euro release clause with the parent club.
Inacio is the right option for Ten Hag.
Last season, the centre-back made 52 appearances and scored 4 goals, while also assisting 3 more and helping his club keep 21 clean sheets in all competitions. In the current season, the Portugal international has made 16 appearances and helped keep four clean sheets and his future is linked to a move away from Lisbon as early as January.
Inacio’s left hand is a perfect fit for Ten Hag’s style of developing the ball from the back. But whether Manchester United can activate this player’s release clause in January or not, we still have to wait for further information.
Dang Nguyen | 08:14 November 13, 2023
