Man Utd are slowly picking up form in the Premier League, picking up their second 1-0 victory on the trot, this time against Luton Town on Saturday.
But manager Erik ten Hag is still sweating over an ever-rising injury list which got swelled by two with Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund adding to it.
The defence has been the worst affected with recent reports confirming Jonny Evans is set to be out for a few weeks, adding to the losses of Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, and Lisandro Martinez.
United’s major defensive issues
Raphael Varane has continued to be injury-prone, which has added to the Dutchman’s woes, and it is pretty evident that the Old Trafford outfit need to recruit smartly in January.
Multiple defenders have been linked with a move to the Theatre of Dreams during the winter with Goncalo Inacio‘s name once again doing the rounds recently.
His profile is very interesting and attractive for Ten Hag as he is left-footed and can provide adequate cover for Martinez with United currently without a left-footed defender.
Initially, it seemed the Sporting Lisbon star would be off the market but now it seems the Portuguese is back on the radar with numerous other clubs also tracking him.
While Liverpool were said to be ahead in the race, the status quo seems to have changed as per AS (via Sport Witness) who mention United as being in pole position among Premier League outfits.
United are the “first option” should the 22-year-old decide to move to the Premier League, ahead of the Merseyside outfit who have extensively scouted him.
Inacio race heating up
Real Madrid are also in the race and are reportedly prepared to match his €60m release clause with United also “very interested” and could prove to be a “great rival” in the race for Inacio.
Last season, the centre-back made 52 appearances and scored four times while assisting three more and helped his club keep 21 clean sheets in all competitions.
In the current campaign, the Portugal international has made 16 appearances and helped keep four clean sheets and his future is said to lie away from Lisbon with a move on the horizon as early as January.
Inacio is the perfect stylistic fit for Ten Hag but whether United can cough up the release clause in January remains to be seen.
