Manchester United have one clear priority in the January transfer market and that is to sign Ruben Amorim a player who fits that left wing-back role perfectly.
Things are beginning to move along nicely for the new head coach, with this past weekend’s 2-1 win over Man City being the biggest moment yet.
Ruben Amorim has lost two of his opening six games, but considering the hectic schedule this can be considered a success at such an early point in his reign.
Now though, the real work starts for Ineos who will be tasked with giving Amorim a squad capable of eventually challenging for the Premier League title in 2028, as Omar Berrada has targeted.
Amorim’s priority signing is a wing-back, with the left side seen as a weak spot in the team currently. Well, now it has been reported that the Red Devils have enquired about Italy’s best left-back.
Ineos enquire over Federico Dimarco
So with a left wing-back the priority, United are reportedly looking into the possibility of signing Federico Dimarco from Inter Milan.
According to Italian outlet Tuttosport, United have identified Inter Milan’s Dimarco as having all the qualities needed to fill the left wing-back role.
The report continues that with Luke Shaw’s deficiencies, United views Dimarco as the ideal replacement and has recently sent an enquiry to Inter.
However, it is bad news for Jason Wilcox and co. as the response has been a resounding no from both Inter and Dimarco.
This is due to Dimarco being a boyhood Inter fan, and the Milan side not willing to sell such an undroppable star mid-way through a title-contending season.
Dimarco is the attacking wing-back Ruben Amorim desires
While Dimarco is not a player United will be able to sign, his obvious quality is something United should be using as a template to find the perfect option.
In terms of being an attacking wing-back, Dimarco is extremely creative, averaging 4.48 shot-creating actions per 90 – enough to rank him in the top two per cent of full-backs. While he is in the top one per cent for expected assisted goals, according to FBRef.
This is more than United attacker Alejandro Garnacho, who creates just 3.69 shots per 90, in the 48th percentile as per FBRef.
So when looking for options similar to the ‘best left-back in Italy’, Dimarco, one immediately interesting possibility is Bayer Leverkusen’s Alex Grimaldo.
However, the one we like is Miguel Gutierrez of Girona who United are in talks over. Gutierrez is an offence-first wing-back and would perfectly fit into the demands Amorim has of the role.
Whoever joins, we are sure will be an upgrade to the current options on display at Old Trafford.
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