1. Eric Bailly
He is probably my favorite player at United right now, along with Rashford and De Gea of course. First and foremost, the man is a beast. Standing at 6’2, he is a no-nonsense defender. Centrebacks are often in pairs because one is supposed to take the lead and focus on most defending, whereas the other lot, called the ‘carriers’, often have another job to do such as putting in the through balls and starting play.
Bailly is most certainly a defender of the first type. Direct, versatile and physical, he is what you would call a classic centre back. Also, very hard to get past. While I have no clue why Mourinho does not play him enough, he is certainly the centre back, United could hold on to for many years and turn into a club legend.
What works for Bailly is that he is only 24. His prime is yet to come and he has already shown a lot of promise. Picked out of obscurity, while playing a local tournament in Burkina Faso, he has played his way to the top, through Espanyol B, Espanyol and Villareal, till United shelled out 30Mn for his services.
Bailly though has only played close to 140 games in his career till now, so there is a lot more football left in him. But what has undeniable has, is talent and lots of it. Bailly is probably United’s best centre back at this point.
2. Victor Lindelöf
Lindelöf’s is a curious case. He just does not look in place at United. Brought in for good money from Benfica, he has not justified his price tag. Lindelöf’s time at United has been scrappy, to say the least. A bigger problem though is that he is naturally down the pecking order due to genuine football skills.
While he has been ever-present for Benfica and Sweden in the past, he just does not exude confidence. A good to have defender in the ranks, but a 50% tackle success rate just won’t work for a team where 5 players are battling for 2 centre back spots.
Also, despite his 6’2 frame, he has a tendency to lose aerial duels and statistically he has lost more aerial duels than won. Not good enough. Simple. Maybe with time, he can find the best in himself, but at the moment he is probably not United’s best bet.
3. Marcos Rojo
Rojo has been at United for 4 years. While he is a good defender in his own right, he is probably on his way out from United. Rojo though has some crazy numbers to support his case. He has only lost 9 games in which he has featured.
He has never made an error leading to a goal. He has a healthy 72% tackle success rate. Of all the defenders mentioned here, he also has the best passing rate in the team. He has a good 50 passes per match. Also interesting is that he is extremely adept at playing left back, which he has done for Argentina on many occasions and on and off for United Age, however, is not on his side.
At 28 and having given 4 years to United and being injury prone, it is probably a good time to offload him. Especially with Everton and Wolves interested in his service. He has come close to justifying his 16Mn price tag. But again, 16Mn is not much for a defender compared to what clubs are shelling out today.
In my opinion, the best pair in United would Bailly and Jones, with Smalling being a good cover for the team. Also not to forget United has sent two promising kids in Tim Fosu Mensah and Axel Tuanzabe out on loan. Once back, and for the next seasons the two of these could become vital cogs of the United defensive wheel.