Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is on the cusp of something special with the Old Trafford side. Humiliations against Manchester City and Liverpool aside, the club have won their first trophy in six years and are still in the hunt for a total of four trophies this term.
The Dutchman has made some impressive signings, with Casemiro and Christian Eriksen boosting the midfield, while defender Lisandro Martinez has been a revelation at the club.
The Argentinian centre-back has received an average rating of 7.07 via Sofascore for his Premier League performances and ranks first in the squad for accurate passes per game (47.6), second for clearances (3.5) and fifth for both interceptions (1.2) and tackles (1.9).
Despite the impressive displays by the player, the 7-0 and 6-3 drubbings by their biggest rivals, plus the fact United have conceded 47 goals in all competitions this season, perhaps suggest that the defence could be improved.
If only the manager could have a player that Sir Alex Ferguson signed in January 2006 at the club right now as he would certainly make a difference – Nemanja Vidic.
How did Nemanja Vidic perform at Manchester United?
The 36-cap Serbian warrior became arguably Fergie’s greatest defensive signing in his final decade in charge of the side and he was the lynchpin of United’s last great era under the Scot.
He played 300 matches for the Red Devils and was even dubbed “unbeatable” by Paul Scholes, while another Rio Ferdinand also lauded him with praise, saying: “He became a defender that was feared. He could fight with the most physical, he crunched into tackles, he attacked the ball better than anyone I’ve ever seen. But as he will tell you with a smile, he could also play with the ball too, which made him complete and a great defender.”
Vidic was even voted as the greatest-ever Premier League defender in a Twitter poll by Sky Sports News, defeating Virgil van Dijk with 54.5% of the votes and that illustrates just good he really was.
The enforcer averaged a WhoScored rating of 7.17 or higher in the five seasons he played in the Premier League while the statistics were available, which is considerably better than the 6.79 rating Martinez has managed this term and suggests that the Serbian would be a significant upgrade on United’s current options in that position.
Imagine him in ten Hag’s backline now at his peak. The tank would be incredible, based on his impressive aforementioned statistics, and would shore up the United defence.
Martinez has been great so far, yet there is always room for improvement, and anyone that wants to be at the heart of the United defence for years should take inspiration from Vidic and all that he achieved.
#Man #United #Vidic #shine #Ten #Hag
