Former Manchester United winger Lee Sharpe has told BetVictor that Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite could be the answer to a “clear problem” with selection stability that has eaten away at the Red Devils defence this season.
Jarrad Branthwaite is certainly a signing they should look at this summer. He’s a big, strong defender who can play with the ball. He’s fit, he’s young and he’s certainly the type of player you need to look at. I don’t know whether he’d come into the first XI and start on a regular basis or feature behind the likes of Lisandro Martinez or Harry Maguire. It’s a difficult one because it’s at the heart of the defence so he can’t make too many mistakes on a big stage like Old Trafford otherwise it will ruin his confidence.
The club need to turnaround straightaway, so whilst it’s all good bringing in these young players, they need some experience to guide them as well, but Branthwaite has shown that he can perform on a regular basis in the Premier League and that’s the kind of consistency they’re missing at the back currently.
That’s one of the reasons they’re conceding so many goals – there’s no stability with who lines up in defence and it’s a clear problem. The best defences all have a great relationship with eachother but they haven’t been given the chance to do that this season.
I’m happy for Mount, but not sure how he breaks into the side
I’m really happy for Mason Mount It’s really difficult to go to a new club and be injured as much as he has, so I’m happy he’s back on the pitch and back on the scoresheet. Will he be a regular in the staring XI? I’m not sure yet – when you’ve been out with a long injury, you’ve got to be careful of playing someone for 90 minutes every game.
I think he might be a substitute for a couple of games and then maybe start more regularly towards the end of the season. After that, it’s difficult to see who you would leave out. Casemiro and Christian Eriksen are getting a bit leggy, but they do sit there and dictate the game more than Mount would. You can’t leave Kobbie Mainoo or Bruno Fernandes out for him, so it’s tricky to see where exactly he gets into the team and where he gets a game. It’s a difficult one.
United to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
It’ll be a really tough game and it depends on what United turn up. If the same United that played against Brentford show up then they’re going to lose, but if they put in a similar performance to how they did against Liverpool then they’ve got every chance of winning.
There are two under pressure managers in the dugout and two teams with really good players who have struggled with inconsistency this year, so it will be interesting to see the outcome. I don’t think it will be an easy game for United at all, but I’m going to fancy them to beat this Chelsea side, so I’m going with 2-1 to United.
