Roy Keane suggests Man United need one or two players in this department

Manchester United legend Roy Keane believes the Red Devils need to strengthen their defence rather than bolstering their attacking options during the next transfer window.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made a slow beginning to the ongoing campaign and the backline was a problematic position with the lack of regular clean sheets in the league.

The defensive record, however, improved during the second half of the season and prior to the coronavirus shutdown, the club conceded just the solitary goal from five top-flight games.

Taking this into regard, there has definitely been a steady improvement over the course of the campaign but Keane still has his concerns over the central defensive partnership and the left-back position.

“Do you know what? Every time you talk about the big clubs and what they need, everyone always talks about attacking players.I still think they need one or two defenders,” he told Sky Sports.

“I’m still not convinced with the centre-backs. I’m certainly not convinced with [Luke] Shaw, I think [Brandon] Williams has done well as a young kid, even though he’s right-footed playing on that side.”

At the beginning of the season, there were positional errors made by Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire but the duo have developed an understanding in the central defence as the season has progressed.

As such, Keane has been proved wrong in this aspect and the same could be said on his opinion for Shaw, who was having one of his best spells of his United career before the league’s suspension.

The competition from academy graduate Brandon Williams has had a positive influence on the England international, who knows that he can afford to drop his performance levels.

Aside from the regular left-back/ left wing-back role, Shaw has also proved the ideal fit as the left-sided player in a three-man backline where he has solely focused on his defending without the need to move higher up the field.