Manchester United are trying to step up their business in the transfer market. The club have already secured a deal for Tyrell Malacia and look set to announce Christian Eriksen on a free transfer, though deals for Frenkie de Jong and Lisandro Martinez have seemingly stalled.
The Manchester Evening News understands that while United have agreed a fee with Barcelona for De Jong, a dispute over unpaid wages is holding up the deal. But once that transfer is complete, the club will move on to other targets, most notably a right-back.
The Athletic claim United and Arsenal are both interested in Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters. But what exactly does Ten Hag want from his right-back?
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Some have suggested that due to Luke Shaw's attacking ability, the role of the opposite full-back would be similar to how Daley Blind plays for Ajax. While the former United defender will be listed as a left-back on the team sheet, he more often than not finds himself tucking in at centre-back as he looks to progress the play.
But if we are following the example of the squad Ten Hag created at Ajax, the right-back is consistently the player who goes forward and contributes to the attack. Last season that player was Noussair Mazraoui, who registered five goals and four assists in all competitions.
Mazraoui constantly ventured forward to support Antony, who is also a target for Ten Hag this summer, overlapping and underlapping where appropriate. His most effective move saw him drive to the byline once his Brazilian teammate had isolated the defender to create space in behind.
Ten Hag's football is all about exploiting the space and overwhelming the opposition by creating a numerical advantage and signing a right-back who can help out the attack would be preferable. Walker-Peters is an example of a player who could do that, while Malo Gusto from Lyon and Jeremie Frimpong of Bayer Leverkusen would also be excellent buys.
Mazraoui would have been the perfect player for United to target and he would have been available for free as his contract expired this summer. But Bayern Munich swooped in quickly to secure a deal and given they can consistently offer him the chance of silverware and Champions League football, it seems unlikely United would have been able to compete.
How United build from the back has been a problem for many years now, and Ten Hag will be looking to rectify that in his debut season. Fully upgrading the defence will go a long way to doing just that.
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