The Missing Piece in United’s Defense
On June 10 2017, Manchester United announced the signing of 22 year old center back, Victor Lindelof. This signing probably took most fans by surprise as there weren’t rumors about it in the media and some were probably hearing about him for the first time ever.
The question on everyone’s mind is, will Lindelof turn out to be a good signing? In search of answers, I did what every self acclaimed pundit does- watched clips of the player on YouTube.
Lindelof is a true ball playing defender in every way you can think of. Last season, he made an average of 62 passes per game with an accuracy of 89.9 percent. The clips I watched saw him start the attack on quite a number of occasions and pick out players making runs on the flanks.
In true ball playing fashion, his ability to read the game is quite good. He relies on his pace to make timely interceptions and tackles. He made an average of two interceptions per game and his precision in tackling is evident from the single yellow card he received in the league last season. This is really impressive for a defender who makes six defensive actions per game.
At 6'2", his ability in the air has to be a great strength and this is one area I definitely think he needs to improve. He won 5o percent of his aerial duels last season and scored 1 goal. He will need to be more aggressive when he comes up against the attackers in the premier league. United will also need him to win balls and score goals from set pieces.
He has been criticized for his positioning and his decision making when under pressure but this shouldn’t be of serious concern to United fans. First off all, I expect him to learn a lot during pre season and with Eric Bailly by his side, any lapse should be swiftly handled.
The reincarnation of Ferdinand and Vidic
The quote above from a comment on YouTube describes perfectly how I feel about the signing of Lindelof. He has all the attributes of Rio Ferdinand- calm ball playing defender and Eric Bailly has all the attributes of Nemanja Vidic- no nonsense tough defender. This defensive partnership has the potential to be the best in the league in a couple seasons. Their styles of play complement each other perfectly and I expect them to be rock solid.
United have definitely bought a gem and I can’t wait to see his calm style of defending on display.
