Manchester United were rocked as a club on Sunday when late on in their match against Crystal Palace, Lisandro Martinez went down.
The defender seemed to know right away that he had picked up a big injury and yesterday it was confirmed he had suffered a cruciate ligament tear in his knee.
This is one of the most devastating injuries for a footballer and while recovery time has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, the average return time is about eight months.
Therefore, United fans are unlikely to see Martinez play until October time at the earliest and Ruben Amorim will need to find solutions as the transfer window has come and passed without a senior centre back signing.
It can be assumed that Matthijs de Ligt will be the first choice centre back and Harry Maguire will also start as he has seen an increase in minutes lately in Amorim’s back three.
United then have one more spot to fill and the choice is clear.
Leny Yoro must be given the chance to shine. The Frenchman is only 19 years old and at times looks very raw.
He was torn to shreds by Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana and missed the header that resulted in Palace’s first goal at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Nonetheless, this terrible situation could be the chance for Yoro to shine and gain valuable minutes at Premier League level.
Amorim has trusted young players numerous times before in his career and has not been frightened to thrust them into starting positions, such as 17 year old United target Geovany Quenda at Sporting Lisbon.
Yoro has also begun to gain more minutes for Amorim since returning from injury at the end of November. He has started four out of the last seven Premier League games and has played the full 90 minutes in two out of his last three matches.
Amorim is clearly a fan as before his debut in December he claimed Yoro was a “special talent”.
There are many other reasons to give the Frenchman the role, however.
A back three containing De Ligt and Maguire is hardly the fastest in the world and Yoro’s lightning recovery speed will be essential in helping out his fellow centre backs.
What’s more, United have really struggled defending set pieces and in theory, a back three of De Ligt, Maguire and Yoro is tall and strong in the air. All three players can also be a threat from attacking set plays to help add to United’s meagre goal tally this season.
Crucially, with the loss of Martinez, United have lost their best passer from the defence and Maguire and De Ligt cannot replicate the Argentine’s vision.
Yoro perhaps can. Before the match against FCSB last Thursday, Yoro spoke alongside Amorim at the pre-match press conference and explained, “I already played with the back three in the past, so for me, it was easier to adapt my way to play. With the back of three, I can put my attributes in front, you know, like take the ball, defend up, and I think for me it’s a good thing.”
Of course, Yoro will need rotation and he cannot play every game. United’s other defenders will need to step up but they are not the future.
Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans can provide experience but it is highly unlikely either will be at the club come next season.
Noussair Mazraoui, Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot can also cover as third centre backs, especially with the arrival of Patrick Dorgu for the left wing-back position, but it seems a strange choice to prioritise playing someone out of position at the expense of developing a potential world-class talent like Yoro.
Ayden Heaven has also arrived this winter and whilst it would be interesting to see him get some first team action, the 18 year old has only played one match for the senior Arsenal team.
In contrast, Yoro has played a combined 88 first team matches for LOSC Lille and United, so their experience is incomparable at this stage.
Therefore, Amorim’s choice of third centre back is a clear one as Yoro’s development is one of the most important things the club does over the next few years.
Featured image Michael Regan via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
