Alternative Options to Dayot Upamecano for Manchester United:

(thread)

As we saw in the previous thread, Dayot Upamecano (despite being a raw talent) would compliment Harry Maguire very well at Manchester United.

This thread will look at alternatives, with a focus on Kalidou Koulibaly due to the extensive transfer links between him and United.

The shortlist is comprised of players United are linked with (although rumours are by no means gospel), feasible targets, and you guys' recommendations:

Kalidou Koulibaly:
Age: 29
Club: Napoli
Nationality: Senegal
Height: 195cm
Favoured Foot: Right
Transfer Status: Expensive- £70m?

Milan Skriniar:
Age: 25
Club: Inter
Nationality: Slovakia
Height: 187cm
Favoured Foot: Right
Transfer Status: For sale- £50m?

Alessio Romagnoli:
Age: 25
Club: Milan
Nationality: Italy
Height: 188cm
Favoured Foot: Left
Transfer Status: Unknown- £50m+ ?

Gabriel:
Age: 22
Club: Lille
Nationality: Brazil
Height: 190cm
Favoured Foot: Left
Transfer Status: £30m+ ?

Nathan Ake:
Age: 25
Club: Bournemouth
Nationality: Netherlands
Height: 180cm
Favoured Foot: Left
Transfer Status: Bournemouth probably relegated- 30m.

Pau Torres:
Age: 23
Club: Villareal
Nationality: Spain
Height: 180cm (?)
Favoured Foot: Left
Transfer Status: £30-40m

Juan Foyth:
Age: 22
Club: Spurs
Nationality: Argentina
Height: 190cm
Favoured Foot: Right
Transfer Status: Unused at Spurs- £20m?

So, now for the data and discussion:

As mentioned in the previous Upamecano thread, centrebacks joining United need to be able to perform progressive actions and carries in slightly wider positions due to our build-up shape:

How do these centrebacks fare in ball possession in these key metrics?

(data from FBref)

Upamecano (as discussed previously) is very impressive in ball possession; as is Koulibaly it appears.

The benefit of Ake/Torres/Gabriel is they're left-footed, however this isn't of paramount importance for United due to Maguire's competencies on the left centreback position.

Here is how Koulibaly himself compares directly to Upamecano and United's current options. Make of this what you will; he is more than competent in ball possession, negligibly worse than Upamecano.

In terms of defensive attributes, here is how the options line up, ranked by recoveries (an important attribute when playing with Maguire):

There are a lot of important metrics and it looks like a mess; but you can extract the key points.

Foyth is a good tackler, as is Koulibaly.

Upamecano is the king of recoveries; Gabriel is good in this regard too.

Skriniar and Romagnoli very unimpressive.

We can also look at how the two 'premium' options compare to Lindelof as Maguire's partner:

Both Koulibaly and Upamecano have marginally higher recoveries/90, and tackles won /90. Koulibaly marginally better at tackling, but has a worse pressures success % than Upamecano.

As both Koulibaly and Upamecano are definitely upgrades on Lindelof, here is how they compare to Maguire more clearly:

Both could form a decent complimentary relationship with Maguire at CB; Upamecano perhaps marginally a better fit due to his 'sweeper' abilities.

So to conclude, there are few well rounded left footed options (perhaps Gabriel is the best option). Pau Torres is reasonable in possession too.. but I'd personally prioritise a complimentary fit with Maguire over obtaining a left-footed centreback, thus...

it is between Upamecano and Koulibaly for me. Intangibles like Upamecano's abilities in the 'sweeper role' give him the edge for me, as both are clearly competent. Koulibaly is less error prone, but also is more expensive and a lot older. This has to be appreciated.

As usual, let me know your thoughts (I try and respond to everyone):

-Players I missed?
-Who is your top choice?
-Transfer updates on any of these targets;
-Data visualisation- how could I improve present it?

Anyhow, thanks for reading this far!