Manchester United need to completely overhaul their defense this summer. With the exception of summer 2022 signing Lisandro Martinez, none of their center backs fit into a big-picture squad plan.
Jonny Evans’ days as a top Premier League club are numbered, as are Victor Lindelof’s. Clearly, neither of these players is good enough to start for Man United, and the club could easily find depth players with more future upside.
Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane are overpriced, oft-injured veteran center backs who were once great (or, in Maguire’s case, allegedly great) and will be moved this summer if Manchester United can find a suitable transfer partner.
According to a report from The Mirror’s David McDonnell, Manchester United are showing interest in Everton center back Jarrad Branthwaite and Bayer Leverkusen central defender Edmond Tapsoba.
These are two young, world-class center backs who would immediately start for Manchester United and be upgrades over Varane and Maguire.
Martinez, who has been dealing with injury woes of his own in the 2023/24 season, cannot do everything on his own. The former Ajax “bulldog” in defense needs more help.
Branthwaite is one of the elite young center backs in England and will be wanted by every top Premier League club, including crosstown rivals Manchester City. Signing Branthwaite from Everton would be a serious coup for Manchester United.
Tapsoba is a little older at 25 vs. 21, but he has years of excellence under his belt at Bayer Leverkusen, who have just secured the Bundesliga title in a fairytale season.
Therefore, Tapsoba is more of a proven winner than any of Man United’s current center backs, with the exception of Raphael Varane – and maybe Casemiro, if United actually do convert him to the back four.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.