Unlike other areas of the pitch, Ruben Amorim won't struggle to find players to play in his defense.
The United boss is looking for new attackers with Bryan Mbeumo and Viktor Gyokeres high on the list of players to join what he would like to be his Man Utd. This is in addition to the already signed Matheus Cunha.
There's also reports of the manager wanting another midfielder, one which contains high energy, athleticism, technical ability, versatility and all the other ilities to bolster a midfield roster made up of Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer.
Read about who is our best midfield pair here.
A new goalkeeper is also part of the plans although a potential Andre Onana replacement isn't thought to be a high priority however, there was talk about PSG's Gianluigi Donnarumma being linked with a move to United.
The treble-winning gk would have to be quite foolish to depart Paris.
So pretty much every area and position has been mentioned as improvements needed in the squad.
Except in defense.
I haven't seen much talk about needing to buy new centre-backs or wing-backs.
This is who Amorim has at his disposal in defense:
Noussair Mazraoui
Matthijs De Ligt
Harry Maguire
Lisandro Martinez
Patrick Dorgu
Leny Yoro
Diogo Dalot
Luke Shaw (how is this guy still here?!)
Ayden Heaven
Harry Amass
Tyler Fredricson
11 options to choose from for his back three.
Often, managers would tell you that it's better to have too many players than too few but it could sometimes give them a headache. I believe that this is one of those times.
So who does he choose?
Centre-backs
The only true mainstay in that defense has been Mazraoui. The Moroccan came in last season from Bayern Munich for £12m which is still a fee that we can't wrap our heads around as to how cheap it was for this quality a player.
He's displayed high levels of quality and consistency as the defender has been ever-present bar the odd missed game through injury.
More than this, the 27 year old has shown tremendous versatility as he has played at:
Right wing-back
Right centre-back
Left wing-back
Left centre-back
And was even used as a no 10 by former manager Erik ten Hag in United's 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce in the Europa League last season. A bit of a bizarre one, but anyway.
Considering how good he's been (I think he deserved player of the year more than Bruno) he almost HAS to be in the side and by his versatility, can play a number of positions.
I do think he's been at his best at RCB though as that is where he's looked most comfortable. This could also pave the way for Amad to play as RWB allowing for an extra attacker in the team which would be great if we can add Mbeumo as well.
De Ligt is next on the list and joined United with Mazraoui from Bayern for a fee of £43m which was also a bit of a bargain considering his age, ability and experience.
I think he's been our next best defender after Mazraoui although for some reason, the Dutchman is a player whose qualities seemed to be overlooked. I really can't understand why 🤷♂️.
He's been super steady and has also shown versatility as the 25 year old has played across all three centre-back positions.
These two players in particular have a really good relationship and understanding which would make sense given the fact that this is now the third club they've played together at. The other two being Ajax and Bayern.
Having played for such clubs should also tell you how good they are.
Just for this understanding alone, you'd want them in the defense as that connection anywhere on the pitch is vital. Compared to most of the rest of the squad, there is also a leadership and experience between the two. We know that these are attributes we're seriously lacking in our team. I often find that we are also more well organized whenever Mazraoui and De Ligt are at the back. There is more of a confidence whenever they are in the starting XI too.
Next is a man who's turned things around over the last couple of seasons: Harry Maguire.
I am not the biggest fan of his and I don't think he's that good but even I have to admit that he has been superb under Amorim and become more of the player we hoped we'd sign from Leicester, 6 years ago.
I do believe the fact that we have changed from a four at the back to a three has helped him because for the England national team, Maguire was one of former manager Gareth Southgate's best defenders in their back three.
Having two partners beside him (Maguire only plays as the central centre-back) has helped the 32 year old and made up for his deficiencies. It hasn't necessarily mattered who those partners were and De Ligt and Mazraoui can certainly play that part.
I just feel that with Maguire, he is more this old school type of defender and one that is somewhat out-dated in today's game. He definitely has his qualities which he's shown not only as a defender but in other positions most notably right-winger and striker (that header against Lyon will live long in the memory even though it turned out to be useless), but in terms of that modern centre-back who can take us to the next level, he simply isn't it.
At 32, he is also getting on a bit. His weaknesses make us a little too vulnerable in my opinion so we need better. I wouldn't have him as a starter.
I don't mind him being a squad player but that is what he'll have to be content with.
However, a player who is modern and ticks a lot of the boxes is a fan favorite in the butcher, Lisandro Martinez.
Honestly, the only issue with him is availibility. The Argentine has been injured so much over the past two seasons I sometimes forget that we have him!
But when looking at his attributes, one cannot question that he is our best ball-playing defender. He's so good that some would like to see him play in midfield. That composure he has in possession and ability to pick a pass especially over the top or through the lines, is so important in wanting to build up from the back. Nobody else can do like him.
He along with De Ligt and Mazraoui, have great reading of the game and anticipation so as to snuff out danger before it becomes danger. To have a back three of them would add a leadership and experience we don't have with others. They are all also some of the players who know what it's like to win which is something that can only be said of Casemiro.
I think this could be the back three that Amorim would favor although with Martinez's horrific injury history, he may have a problem.
A solution to that problem is in a player that many would like to see start anyway and that is Leny Yoro. The French teenager came in with a huge reputation as one of the best young defenders in football with Real Madrid being heavily in for him.
He (thankfully) ended up choosing United and I don't think anyone has been unhappy about that.
Yoro is the fastest of our centre-backs and is a good ball carrier as we saw towards the end of last season. I believe Amorim singled out this ability and told the 19 year old to use it when in tough situations like being a goal down in the second leg against Bilbao at Old Trafford when we were in need of a goal.
He is also quite tall at 1.9m meaning that he's good in the air. As he is also just 19, he is the youngest of our defenders with a bright future ahead.
Similarly to Martinez though, his major issue could be injuries. Yoro missed four months at the start of the season after a foot injury in pre-season. He then had something at the end of the campaign but luckily, that proved to not be too serious.
For me, the ideal back three will have to have consist of one of Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez and Yoro.
You must take into account that we have Andre Onana in goal and he'll need all the protection he can get. I believe this group of players will do that best.
Wing-backs
Mazraoui can be included in here as well. While I said he is best as RCB, he has still been pretty damn good in all the other positions including wing-back, left or right.
He is much better suited to the right because he is right-footed but is more than able to do a job down the left.
For me though, I've felt that some of his worse games has come as a wing-back. He is not as attacking as one needs to be when playing in that position in this 3-4-3 formation. He's only had 3 assists this season in 57 matches.
Diogo Dalot is the other option down the right or even left as he can play on the opposite flank. He is quite the contrast to Mazraoui.
Where the Moroccan has been consistent, the Portuguese has been consistently shite. For some reason, his form dropped immensely last season after his player of the year winning campaign in 23/24.
We can never question his endeavor and will to do his best but that quality was seriously underpar. On the other hand, he has been more involved going forward than Mazraoui which is more of what we want to see.
Dalot had 3 goals and 5 assists which is better than his teammate even if it's still not good enough for what is required of the modern wing-back.
I think Dalot has a decent chance of starting because Amorim seems to favor his fellow Portuguese.
The two of them are also regularly availble which is another aspect of theirs that is a positive.
At left wing-back, there really is only one option and that is Patrick Dorgu.
He isn't the finished article and nor should we have expected that when the 20 year old former Lecce player joined. People were quick to jump on his back even though he is young, inexperienced and was brought into a club and team in turmoil.
Dorgu has only been at United for 6 months and I believe his time has gone exactly as you would've expected of a player of his profile: a little inconsistent. However, as time went on, I think he grew into his role as that starting left wing-back.
Given his age of 20 and Amorim being a manager who is well-known for developing young talent, I'm sure he will improve Dorgu.
He definitely has to get better both going forward and backwards as there has been frustrations but all-in-all, I can't really complain. I think he's done a fine job and is in with a shout to be the starting LWB.
Forget about Luke Shaw because he should be on the chopping block. How he's survived this long is one of the great musteries. We cannot rely on him as he is too injury prone even if he has the quality.
Then there is the wildcard that I mentioned earlier and that is Amad as RWB.
As Amorim would preferably use wingers instead of full-bakcs out wide, Amad would be the perfect choice down the right. He has all the attacking output the rest of the players in these positions don't although his biggest weakness is defensive.
Amad is not known for being the best defensively and should he be the man down the right, this is an aspect of his game that needs drastic improvement.
But if he does play on the right, it means that neither Mazraoui nor Dalot can. Mazraoui can drop into the back three but one of them will have to come out entirely. Amorim could also use Mazraoui or Dalot as LWB and drop Dorgu whilst maintaining a back three of Marinez, De Ligt and Yoro and still have Amad as RWB.
There are many different paths the manager can take.
I didn't include the youngsters Heaven, Amass and Fredricson in this as I doubt they'll be regulars in the first team although we know they have loads of quality. It's good to know that players such as these are coming through the ranks.
Final Thoughts
When everyone is available, I would go Mazraoui as LWB (sorry Dorgu), Amad on the right with Martinez, De Ligt and Yoro as the back three.
I believe that that is quite the dominating defense but also one that has the ability going forward.
Mazraoui and Amad might be weak links in those wide positions but it's not as if they're completely useless out of their best roles. The Moroccan is a player who gives everything he has as he is an absolute work horse so we don't need to worry about that even out of position.
Amad is another who is the same but will provide that attacking prowess we need down at least one flank. We are a bit left-sided as much of our attacks go down the left. With Mazraoui there, it may not work as well.
Then Martinez, De Ligt and Yoro have that ideal blend of quality in possession, ability to run with the ball, aerial strength, physicality, a bit of speed, reading of the game, recovery pace, experience and leadership.
These three compliment each other so well.
This would be my ideal back three and five when everyone is fit.
Do you agree with me or would you like others in that defense?
Whatever the case is, Amorim has a lot of good options to choose from which isn't something we've said over the years.
Matthijs De Ligt, Noussair Mazraoui and Leny Yoro | Creator: Julian Finney | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Man Utd News
Ruben Amorim: Creator: Ben Roberts Photo | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2025 Getty Images via Goal