Man Utd Consider Surprise Move For 6ft 5 Defender Who Is Now In England’s 3rd Tier

BACK David Tully May 29th 2026 This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement. Leicester City defender Ben Nelson has “drawn” the attention of Man Utd, according to reports. The 6ft 5 centre-back was recently relegated with the Foxes to the third tier of English football. However, the Daily Mail claim that Nelson is seen as a bright young prospect who could add depth to United’s first-team squad. The 22-year-old made 27 appearances for Leicester last season, but a hamstring injury meant he missed the club’s last five games. Nelson has attracted interest from other Premier League teams The centre-half has reportedly been scouted by both Chelsea and Manchester City, and it seems likely that the former’s interest was at the behest of their former manager Enzo Maresca. Nelson was given his senior debut by the Italian when he guided Leicester to promotion from the Championship during the 2023/24 campaign. He came as an 82nd-minute substitute for James Justin during a 2-0 win against Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd Round of the Carabao Cup in August 2023. The following season, Nelson was loaned out to Oxford United before returning to the King Power Stadium last summer. Get an Old Trafford stadium tour from Red Letter Days here Man Utd need more defensive cover Manager Michael Carrick does have five senior centre-backs at his disposal, including Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven. However, there are still big concerns about the fitness of de Ligt, in particular. The Dutchman has not played since November due to a back problem, and he has now undergone surgery. As the moment, it doesn’t look like he will be ready to play the first game of the 2026/27 season, so adding another young defender as cover would make sense. Considering Leicester’s current position, you would expect Nelson to jump at the opportunity to make the leap to the Premier League. Want more news on Man Utd? Add Man U News as a preferred source on Google David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for the Football News Network.