Manchester United appear to have identified a leading candidate to replace Harry Maguire this summer, with the former Red Devils skipper seemingly on his way to joining another Premier League club…
Will Maguire leave Man United this summer?
As per various sources, the 30-year-old looks set to seal a move to West Ham United on a £30m deal to bring an end to his turbulent time at Old Trafford, with United seemingly compromising on their prior £50m valuation of the England international.
With that departure to the London Stadium in the works, respected journalist Samuel Luckhurst revealed on Twitter that Bayer Leverkusen ace, Edmond Tapsoba is "of interest" to Erik ten Hag and co, with the 24-year-old having also caught the eye of Tottenham Hotspur amid their own centre-back search this summer.
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In his attached piece for Manchester Evening News, Luckhurst added that the Carabao Cup winners are 'attempting' to acquire another central defender amid Maguire's impending exit, with the Burkina Faso international said to be 'admired' by the United hierarchy.
How good is Edmond Tapsoba?
The end is nigh for Maguire it would seem, with the former Leicester City man in need of a fresh start after becoming a source of mockery and criticism in recent times at the Theatre of Dreams, with The Athletic's Carl Anka noting that the 6 foot 3 dud had "found himself derided, dropped and turned into a meme".
While Ten Hag remains rather flush when it comes to alternative centre-back options – in the form of Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane – further competition and cover is likely to be needed as the club gets ready to compete on four fronts yet again.
Having been lauded as a "complete & elegant" defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Tapsoba could represent a dream option as far as the Red Devils are concerned, even if the 6 foot 4 rock may not exactly come cheap having been valued at around €50m (£43m) of late.
It does appear that Ten Hag is looking to the Bundesliga to find a new centre-back recruit with speculation also rife that Bayern Munich's Benjamin Pavard could be on his way to Manchester, although despite the Frenchman's World Cup-winning experience, his Leverkusen counterpart could perhaps offer a more orthodox fit in the heart of the defence – with Pavard also regularly utilised at right-back.
One particular strength of Tapsoba's is his ability to carry the ball out from the back with relative ease, with the former Vitoria de Guimaraes man notably ranking in the top 7% among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues for progressive carries per 90, as well as in the top 8% successful take-ons per 90.
Pavard, meanwhile, does impressively rank in the top 8% for progressive carries, although the former Stuttgart man only ranks in the bottom 6% with regard to successful take-ons, thus indicating that he is perhaps less effective at taking on his man when in possession.
With the arrival of an "exceptional" ball-playing goalkeeper in the form of Andre Onana – as described by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola – the importance of being able to play out from the back is likely to have only increased as far as Ten Hag is concerned.
Equally, with Pavard also not exactly a long-term option at the age of 27, analyst Aaron Moniz has suggested that the versatile asset is "a bit older than ideal and sub-elite at both RB and CB", while Tapsoba and fellow target Jean-Clair Todibo are said to be the "right profiles".
That would suggest that if the Leverkusen ace is given the nod by United this summer, he could represent a mainstay in the backline for years to come.
