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Manchester United may have dispatched West Ham United with ease, but it came at quite a cost as Lisandro Martinez hobbled off injured.
The Argentine is not expected to return until March and there are fears of an even longer absence. Manager Erik ten Hag was adamant his squad will cope in the World Cup winner’s absence.
United have Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans who can partner Harry Maguire for the time being but next season could be a whole different matter.
The Frenchman’s current deal ends in June and the Red Devils opted against triggering a one-year extension which greatly disappointed the former Real Madrid superstar.
Defensive overhaul
It will be interesting to see if the former France international agrees to sign a new deal on reduced terms. Al Nassr are said to be waiting to strike.
Maguire’s resurgence in form aside, he is not the best fit for the Dutchman’s system and could once again find himself on the market come the summer.
Evans’ deal also ends at the same time and while the manager would like to hold on to him for another season, INEOS might want to bring in someone younger as backup.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is expected to change up the club’s transfer operations with the manager having minimal say with a focus on youth set to be given priority.
As per La Gazzetta dello Sport, United are said to be among three teams keeping an eye on Juventus defender Dean Huijsen, who is currently out on loan at AS Roma.
He had an offer from Frosinone in January but chose to join the Giallorossi when Jose Mourinho gave him a call. However, the Portuguese was sacked in the middle of the month.
Roma sacked the former United boss after the horrible AC Milan defeat but the 18-year-old has continued to get minutes under Daniele De Rossi.
He has made six appearances and managed to score a goal and keep a clean sheet and that has “raised the antennas of at least 3 European clubs: Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig.”
Huijsen being monitored
Juventus are open to moving on certain academy graduates to help with their financial situation and the possibility of a bidding war would suit them very much.
“Partly due to the talent and partly the margins for growth, given that the player was born in 2005, it’s unlikely that Giuntoli will listen to offers lower than 25-30 million, but these figures are far from impossible for those companies.”
The Netherlands U19 international remains raw and has made only seven senior appearances across the two clubs and such an amount may be too exorbitant.
The 6ft4 centre-back has a market value of €2.50 million according to Transfermarkt and breaching the eight-figure mark would be over-indulgence considering where the player is at development-wise.
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