Manchester United already started to look like a proper football team again over the last few weeks and one of the main elements in that improvement has been a solid defence.
The Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had little choice but to play Phil Jones and Marcus Rojo as his central defensive pairing after Chris Smalling and Eric Bailly got injured.
But they have been absolutely superb and the two injured first teamers will have a job getting back into the side once fit again. In a broader sense, it suggests that Manchester United have much more depth in that area of the squad then we hitherto suspected.
But the name that keeps popping up in relation to defensive additions in January is that of Jose Fonte.
The composed 32-year-old Portugal centre back has been brilliant at Southampton and rumours persist that a move may take place in the winter window.
The Daily Mail states:
United manager Jose Mourinho, who shares the same agent – Jorge Mendes – as Portugal’s Euro 2016 winner, failed to land Fonte in the summer and is still keen to add experience to his back four.
The report implies that friends of the United manager have suggested that a £5m deal could be brokered as Fonte only has 18 months left on his contract. But Southampton may slap a £15m price tag on the defender in order to stave off any interest.
He is a really good player but TFF wonders whether Manchester United would be better off sticking with what they have considering the form of their current stars.
Manchester United fans: would Fonte even get in the starting XI right now?