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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Charlie Bennett

Ex-Manchester United duo hail unsung hero after Bournemouth win and send transfer message

Ex-Manchester United defender John O’Shea has championed Victor Lindelof for his “perfect” performance against Bournemouth.

A former unsung hero himself, the Irishman believes Lindelof deserves special praise for helping Erik ten Hag’s side secure a clean sheet and a vital away win. Another solid performance on the south coast helped United cement their grip on the Champions League places as the final week of the campaign approaches.

Since Lisandro Martinez’s injury in April, Lindelof has helped the Reds earn four clean sheets in seven games to edge closer towards a top-four finish. O’Shea singled out the Swede for praise following the win at Bournemouth.

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“Yeah, look, a special mention for Victor Lindelof,” he told MUTV. “Varane gets a lot of attention coming back into the team from injury and, don’t get me wrong, he’s been important too.

“But Victor was… he got caught a little bit for the chance for Kieffer Moore but apart from that, that’s going to happen in a game and that’s where David came and produced a big save. But apart from that I thought he was foot perfect. He was in the right position, good headers, good clearances, great performance from him.”

Wes Brown also stressed the importance of signing a top-class striker once the transfer window opens. Anthony Martial was hooked for Wout Weghorst with half an hour remaining, and neither player is viewed as the long-term solution at Old Trafford.

United are monitoring both Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen as Ten Hag aims to bridge the gap to rivals Manchester City. Former defender Brown reflected on his own time at the club, citing Sir Alex Ferguson’s preference to have several top strikers to call upon.

“It’s very important (to have a clinical striker),” he added. “I think in all our squads through the years we’ve always had three, maybe four. We’ve been lucky enough to have four world-class strikers and that’s somewhere the manager will be looking at.

“But ultimately, it’s about getting where we need to be at this point and the summer is the summer, the manager will try and get in whoever he feels he can to boost the squad. Martial did ok today, he held up the ball well. It would have been good to see him on the score sheet but No.9 is a position Ten Hag will be looking at.”

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