With a heavy price tag attached to his name, Victor Lindelof should be Mourinho’s first choice defender. However, the Swedish defender does not maintain a starting role.
Throughout the Premier League season, Lindelof has made occasional appearances in the Manchester United team sheet. While the Swede has yet to impress at Old Trafford, Lindelof deserves a starting position against West Brom.
First and foremost, West Brom would be a suitable opponent for an out of form defender. For instance, their goal differential speaks volumes about their attacking play. With a -26 goal differential, the last place team will be a worthy opponent for a player who is missing their form.
In this year’s Premier League season, Lidelof has 14 appearances to his name. Of those appearances, the Swedish defender has conceded 12 times. Essentially, Lindelof averages one goal conceded per game. For a new defender at United, there is a lot to be learned. The defender is still young, so mistakes will happen from time to time.
Lindelof must take advantage of his opportunity if Mourinho chooses him to start.
From evaluating Lindelof’s performances, the Swede performs better against smaller opposition. Lindelof does not have the physicality that some strikers have. For instance, the Manchester United man is not a first choice option when facing an opponent such as Manchester City. With an attack as deadly as City’s, Mourinho will trust that job to someone such as Eric Bailly.
Lindelof should get the start against West Brom because he lacks Premier League experience. Additionally, West Brom is in last place, so it is unlikely they will pose a significant threat when playing against Manchester United. After a disappointing first season with United, Lindelof has the chance to prove to Mourinho that he is worthy of a first team start.
With a team as broken as West Brom, Lindelof could prove Mourinho, as well as the rest of the world, wrong.
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In the end, this is only Lindelof’s first season with Manchester United. There are still many more games to play in the young defender’s career. The Swedish defender did not get off to the best start, but Mourinho chose to sign the defender for a reason. Perhaps, the Lindelof Mourinho signed will appear in future games with the club. Going into the new Premier League match week, Lindelof should be trusted to earn another clean sheet.