Ramos or bust? Van Gaal must sign a centre-back after Man Utd's flaws are exploited by PSG
If Manchester United fans had been concerned by talk that Louis van Gaal has no back-up plan should Sergio Ramos stay with Real Madrid, the 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain will have done nothing to put them at ease.
The next time United walk out onto the field, it will be to kick off the new Premier League season. But the loss in Chicago which brought down the curtain on their pre-season schedule leaves them with plenty of defensive issues to ponder over the nine days which precede the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
Long before they conceded the two goals which handed the International Champions Cup to PSG, United had looked ragged and sloppy at the back. David De Gea, Phil Jones, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Matteo Darmian all gifted cheap possession to the French side, while there was little shape or organisation to be found when the Red Devils were without the ball.
It came as no surprise that a defensive mix-up should lead to PSG’s opener, with Jones allowing Blaise Matuidi to get goal-side of him before poking home as De Gea hesitated and Luke Shaw couldn’t quite cover in time. Jones was again slow to react when Zlatan Ibrahimovic slotted home a second after powering through a gap and taking a return pass from Maxwell.
The movement for both goals was extremely rudimentary and should not have resulted in nearly the amount of space the scorers were given, and that has to be a real concern. With only a four-game pre-season schedule, Louis van Gaal will have hoped that his players would be match sharp and up to the pace by now.
While it would be easy to brush off the issues as pre-season growing pains, the truth is that the ills in their own half have been coming. In a summer during which they have strongly pursued Ramos but insisted he is their only centre-back target, United fans across the globe have been quick to identify the heart of their back four as a key area to strengthen.
But almost as soon as rumours emerged that Ramos will soon sign a new deal at the Santiago Bernabeu, it was reported both in England and Spain that Van Gaal will not pursue other options. Interest in Nicolas Otamendi, it is said, does not exist. On this evidence, any such plans could prove costly.
The inclusion of Daley Blind in the middle of defence has baffled some, but Van Gaal has insisted he wants a left-footed player on the left side and it is easy to see why. There are suggestions that Marcos Rojo is more likely to be used in that slot once he has completed a sufficient recovery period after his delayed summer break, yet doubts remain as to whether he is best suited to the position or if left-back is where he really belongs.
Meanwhile on the right the performances of Jones have yet to inject any amount of confidence, with the exclusion of Chris Smalling coming as a great surprise following his impressive campaign last season. The ex-Fulham man has not started a single match during the US tour, suggesting there is little chance of him getting the nod over Jones for the Premier League opener against Tottenham on Saturday week.
The bottom line is that there is a sense of authority lacking at the back, and while the lack of focus of De Gea certainly didn’t help matters at Soldier Field they need to find somebody to organise and take charge of the defensive half of the field. Most of Europe’s top sides have at least one born leader in the centre of their back line, and that is where United look short right now.
The issues in their defence come in stark contrast to other areas of the field. While there can always be adjustments made, there is plenty to work with both in midfield and in attack. In each department Van Gaal has a number of options available to him both in terms of shape and personnel.
If the Dutchman could only add a centre-back or two, then talk of a concerted challenge for the Premier League title would be far more justified than at present.