Why Manchester United should focus on defensive reinforcements in this summer

Manchester United ended their EPL campaign on a high after winning 2-1 away to Wolves on Sunday. They finished 2nd behind Manchester City in the table and will now focus on their Europa League final against spanish opponents Villarreal on Wednesday.

Even though United finished second, they had poor outings in the last few games as they lost to both Leicester and Liverpool at home before drawing to already relegated Fulham in their penultimate game of the season in front of the home crowd.

United's poor form coincided with the injury to their center back and captain Harry Maguire against Aston Villa in early May. Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly could not stop United from conceding goals as they managed to win only one of their last four matches.

The midfield pairing of Scott McTominay and Fred has also failed to convince both fans and pundits, with former United player Roy Keane even insisting that the team won't challenge for major honors with those two in midfield after their performance in the 4-2 defeat to Liverpool.

While United have been excellent going forward, their defense has let them down on numerous occasions. They have conceded 44 goals and kept just 13 clean sheets in the entire season. Even with Maguire in the side, United have often looked shaky at the back and their defending has left a lot to be desired.

Both Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have done pretty well this season going forward, but have been exposed at the back due to midfield's inability to cover the space left behind.

What should Manchester United focus on in the transfer market

All this points to the fact that United are in dire need of a new center back and a defensive midfielder in the summer. While United have been linked with a host of attacking options like Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish, it is the defensive options that need to be prioritized over the others.

With reports that Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos could leave Real Madrid this summer, and even the likes of Jerome Boateng available for free, United have a host of center backs they can look to target in the upcoming transfer window.

💥LET'S GOAccording to Sky Sports and Fabrizio Romano, 🔴Manchester united are seriously interested in Real Madrid's defender 🇨🇵Varane and after their Europa league final, they submitting a bid of £60 millions for the French star.#manchesterunited #varane #transfer #UELfinal pic.twitter.com/c3HZb9iZXC

— Today's Football (@TodaysFootball4) May 20, 2021

United have also been linked with West Ham midfielder Declan Rice, but the club would be unwilling to let him leave for cheap and would demand a hefty fee. Chelsea are also one of the clubs linked with Rice and could compete with United for his signature.

Getting someone like Sancho would definitely be a boost for United's attack, but with a leaky defense at the back, United will find it difficult to compete for major titles. Hence, United should focus on defensive reinforcements in the summer to close the gap on their city rivals and challenge for the titles. As a wise man once famously said, "Attack wins you games, defense wins you titles".