With Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof expected to leave in the summer, Manchester United’s need for a new centre-back signing was clear. That was before Ayden Heaven showed just what he can do.
The teenager had a stellar night against Real Sociedad on Thursday and proved himself to be one of the brightest hopes for United’s future.
Amorim's three-at-the-back system along with the expected departures of Evans and Lindelof would likely have seen United splash out on a centre-back in the summer transfer window but their problems may have been solved.
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If they were to delve into the market for a centre half, they would be spending much more than the compensation fee they agreed with Arsenal when Heaven joined the club. His performance on Thursday suggests he might have saved the club millions.
In his pre-Leicester press conference, Ruben Amorim expressed his delight with Heaven’s efforts and hinted at him getting more game time in the future.
“I really like his confidence. I like his pace, I think he is good in defending the box and I think he is quite complete," Amorim said. "But he has a lot of work to do in the Premier League. We will face a different kind of player, and he will be tested in a different kind of way, so we are trying to manage all of this because he is still really young."
Amorim highlighted the need to rotate his team in different competitions. United will continue to play with three at the back next season and they now have all bases covered with Harry Maguire, Matthijs de Ligt, Heaven, Leny Yoro, Lisandro Martinez and maybe even Luke Shaw when fit. Nousair Mazraouri can also slot into the back three.
Investing in a young player like Heaven means United can focus on fixing their problems at the other end of the pitch. Their season has been plagued by a lack of goals and four of their forward options are currently out on loan.
United’s gamble on a young star might have just saved them a lot of money.
