Wes Brown believes the current cohort of Manchester United defenders are a “good” unit and it’s “not the first area” of the pitch he would look to upgrade in the transfer market.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Peoples Person, courtesy of NewBettingSites.uk, Brown offered a staunch defence of the Red Devil defence, who have received criticism this season for their performances under Ruben Amorim and, previously, Erik ten Hag.
Brown came through the academy system at Old Trafford as a versatile defender who could play at centre-back or right-back. He would go on to win 13 trophies during a fifteen-year career for the Reds – the most successful period in the club’s esteemed history.
In 2009, Sir Alex Ferguson once even described Brown as the “best natural defender in the country” – a time in which centre-backs such as Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry and Ledley King were starring for the Premier League’s biggest clubs.
It’s fair to say, therefore, there are few former players better positioned to assess the state of the current iteration of defenders at Old Trafford than Brown.
The 45-year-old described a backline of Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez as “definitely a good three” who are “picking themselves at the moment.” The clean sheet they were able to keep against Fulham on Sunday evening was “needed for confidence” and a positive step in the right direction for the team.
Brown states, “I think those three have given [United] a base the last couple of games to really help us push forward because you need a defence that is solid, then everyone else can do their jobs.”
Brown also believes the central centre-back position “suits Harry perfectly”, with the 31-year-old defender able to “sweep up, win everything in the air and [be] very calm when he wins the ball on the ground as well.” He commends Maguire for “doing very well since he’s come back [into the first-team]” and judges the England international to be one of United’s “best players” this season, alongside Amad.
The former United star also reserves special praise for 19-year-old centre-back, Leny Yoro. He admits the French starlet has endured some “difficult games” – most notably a torrid evening against Southampton’s Kamaldeen Sulemana – but admires Yoro’s “enthusiasm” and his drive to “keep learning all the time”.
“You need games like that when you’re a young defender, to maybe re-think a few things, and to keep your feet on the floor,” Brown states.
The 45-year-old also believes that “if Luke [Shaw] can stay fit”, then Amorim will be able to call upon a “fresh, new wing-back and centre-back”, though Brown admits this will be “difficult” as the England international has been “very unfortunate” with injuries.
Brown further defends Diogo Dalot – a player who has received criticism from the United fanbase this season – given the Portuguese right-back has been played out of position on the left for much of the campaign.
“Dalot gets a lot of stick, but he’s doing a job where he would [normally] be on the other side. We all know he can play left-back, or left wing-back, but [right-back] is more his position. We know the details of his crossing – very accurate – and he can even shoot.
“And yes, sometimes there’s things on the left you need to do with your left foot, but I think Dalot has been solid. He’s done a job, done what the manager has asked him to do. There’s a lot of running involved in those wing-back positions…and I think he’s done a good enough job.”
When asked whether Brown feels defence is an area the club should be targeting for reinforcement, Brown states, “I don’t think it’s the first area you would be looking at. I don’t think it’s our problem,” although the 2008 Champions League winner does admit the team continue “to concede too many goals”.
United’s next three fixtures are spread across three different tournaments with the club’s last hope of success an otherwise dismal season lying in the cups.
The Reds travel to Romania to play FCSB on Thursday night in the Europa League, before welcoming Crystal Palace to Old Trafford on the weekend in the Premier League. And it’s then a return for Ruud van Nistelrooy the following week as United face Leicester at the Theatre of Dreams in the FA Cup fourth round.
Amorim’s team should be aiming for three clean sheets from three in these games with the Portuguese coach appearing to have settled on a three-man defence who Brown considers to be “picking themselves” at present.
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
