Aaron Wan-Bissaka among 5 defenders Manchester United could offload this summer: Reports

Manchester United are looking to offload five defenders this summer, including right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka. According to The Manchester Evening News, the Red Devils are looking to sell players before reinforcing their backline.

The aforementioned report suggests that Erik ten Hag is keen on signing a new centre-back and has identified Jurrien Timber as his priority. However, the report claims that Timber has told his former manager that he is happy to stay at Ajax for another season.

The Manchester Evening News has also claimed that ten Hag has shortlisted Villareal's Pau Torres, Braga's David Carmo and Ajax's Lisandro Martinez as alternatives to Timber.

Erik ten Hag has inherited a squad that has registered the club's worst campaign defensively since 1978-79. The club has 13 senior defenders on the payroll, with many expected to depart this summer. The defenders expected to make way, as per the report, are Eric Bailly, Phil Jones, Axel Tuanzebe, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Brandon Williams.

Wan-Bissaka could be the biggest name to be offloaded by the Red Devils this summer. The Englishman has failed to impress at Old Trafford since being bought by United in 2019 for a massive £50 million from Crystal Palace. The 24-year-old has made a total of 126 appearances for Manchester United, scoring twice and providing ten assists.

The right-back has often caught the eye thanks to his tackles and defensive awareness but offers very little going forward. Crystal Palace are the favorites to land their former full-back on a loan deal, according to 90Min.

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Manchester United are in dire need of defensive reinforcements

The 2021-22 season was a horrific one for Manchester United, with the team's backline badly exposed on an almost weekly basis. Ideally, the Red Devils should be looking to recruit not only a centre-back but also a right-back and even a left-back.

While their struggles at centre-back have been pretty much well documented, with skipper Harry Maguire making headlines on a regular basis, the full-backs have also not been good enough for the 20-time champions of England.

While Wan-Bissaka has been poor offensively, Diogo Dalot leaves plenty to be desired defensively. Luke Shaw has also been quite inconsistent and injury prone over the course of his career, while Alex Telles has also not been promising.

Erik ten Hag deals he has a monumental challenge on his hands and only time will tell how he and the club deal with the situation.