Manchester United's season has been a rollercoaster, with players coming in and out of the team due to injuries, loss of form and various other reasons.
The search for consistency is one of Erik ten Hag's most important challenges as manager, and there may be no more important area of the pitch to seek consistent performances than in the defence.
The team have allowed 33 goals through 24 league matches so far, which is a decent output but it can be improved upon. One way to bolster the defence is to find a steady centre-back partnership, and one former Man United player believes he has identified the two players that should play together as much as possible as the Red Devils chase a European berth.
Louis Saha, who played for United in the mid-2000s, spoke to Betfred on the issue and he has placed his confidence behind a pair of defenders to lead the line.
“Erik ten Hag has had to contend with a lot of injuries this season and it’s been difficult for him to build his defensive foundation because of this," Saha said.
"It’s very important to have a solid defensive foundation to take control of a game and in my view, [Lisandro] Martínez and [Raphaël] Varane have always looked like the most complimentary centre-back partnership for Manchester United."
Saha also stressed that while he believes Martinez and Varane are the top duo at Ten Hag's disposal, it's imperative that United foster the kind of depth in the position that will allow for the team to compete on multiple fronts.
“If you want to win a league title or go far in the Champions League, then you always need to have four centre-backs that are really good and when I was at Manchester United, it wasn’t always about [Rio] Ferdinand and [Nemanja] Vidić because there was also the likes of [Mikaël] Silvestre and Wes Brown.
"You need to find a way to rotate to give confidence to all the players, so you need to find the right moments to give all the players a chance to perform.
“This is the challenge for Erik ten Hag. Even when you look at Victor [Lindelöf], he’s been reliable when he’s come into the side and he’s a really strong defender that I like a lot.
"Harry Maguire putting in a man of the match performance on Sunday, despite not playing all the time this year, was enormous because he showed great spirit, his commitment and this is essential for anybody playing for the club.
"It’s very important to have these sorts of leaders in the squad.”
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