Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith thinks that Man Utd need to add two defenders to the first-team squad before the window closes on September 1st.

Speaking exclusively to Man U News (courtesy of Best Betting Sites UK), Smith was asked whether Michael Carrick can have a successful season with his current squad, and he replied:

“I had them to finish second. I’m not going to go away from that just yet, but it was a ropey old start [against Hull]. They certainly need another left-back to rival Luke Shaw and maybe another central defender.”

“Lisandro Martinez was on the bench, and he’s coming back. I think they’ve got a lot more in attack than we saw against Hull, so they’ll be pretty anxious to get maybe a couple of defenders in. I think those defensive positions will certainly be first on the list for United.”

Man Utd have looked at several left-backs

As Smith mentions, Carrick needs some competition for Luke Shaw, and the club’s recruitment team are very much aware that the position should be strengthened.

However, they have faced obstacles in trying to land their top target, Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, while moves for the likes of Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde and Brighton’s Ferdi Kadioglu are not expected to progress either.

Cheaper options have been explored, such as Racing Santander’s Jorge Salinas, while there are reports suggesting that the club could delve into the loan market.

A centre-half signing is unlikely

Despite several pundits, including Smith, having stated that reinforcements in the middle of defence are required, there is very little prospect of a centre-back arriving for one key reason.

Carrick already has five options – Martinez, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt and Ayden Heaven, and one of them would probably have to leave for the club to make further additions in that area.

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