Manchester United set to battle Chelsea for highly-rated defender

Manchester United look set to battle Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur in the race to sign the highly-rated English defender.

With almost one-third of the 2020-21 football season gone, the biggest worry that has emerged in Manchester United’s squad is the lack of a world-class defender.

The base of United’s backline sometimes looks so easy to cut through that the need of an imposing new defender is evident at the heart of defence sooner rather than later.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was rightly interested in bringing in another centre-back in the last summer transfer window, considering none of Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo have been particularly impressive.

However, unable to sell either of Jones or Rojo, the club failed to accumulate the funds they would need to sign a world-class centre-back. The result of that should not come as a surprise to anybody.

In the ongoing Premier League season, United have had conceded 16 goals – the same number as bottom-placed Sheffield United. Now to be honest, the record wouldn’t have been this miserable had Solskjaer’s men not endured a 6-1 humiliation at the hands of Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur side.

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According to a fresh report from Sky Sports, Manchester United are considering a move for Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Ben White. But their interest won’t go unchallenged, with Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea also monitoring the defender’s situation.

Being on loan at Leeds United last season, Ben While caught a lot of eyes with his impressive performances in the Championship. As a result, his loan club were keen to make the loan deal permanent. But, the Seagulls were quick to react and let Marcelo Bielsa’s side know of their intention to keep the defender.

White has made 11 appearances for Brighton and Hove Albion this season across all competitions. And he has emerged as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.

The 23-year-old prodigy’s contract with The Seagulls runs till June 2024. It might not seem easy, but Manchester United, with the financial muscle that they hold, could pull the trigger and try to complete a move for the highly-rated centre-back in order to solve their defensive issues.