Manchester United Ready To Sign Free Agent Defender – Ten Hag Wants Him

Diogo Dalot has had an encouraging start under Erik ten Hag, quickly establishing himself as one of the first names on the team sheets. But Manchester United’s failure to address the lack of depth at right-back in the recently concluded transfer window has forced the manager to push for another addition.

Dalot has started in all six of United’s Premier League fixtures, but the moment Ten Hag decided to give him a rest in the Europa League, United’s problems with squad rotation became clear.

The Portuguese was subbed off at half-time against Real Sociedad, but the gaffer had no optimal replacement to take his place, leading to Victor Lindelof filling in at right-back.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka remained an unused substitute, underlining that he’s no longer considered a quality option by the Dutchman, who was open to his exit but the club’s hierarchy decided to back the former Crystal Palace man instead of exploring another right-back to challenge Dalot.

However, Ten Hag is now ‘spearheading the process’ to sign another full-back despite the close of the summer window.

According to EL Deportivo (via the Manchester Evening News), United are ready to offer a deal to Santiago Arias. The 30-year-old defender is currently a free agent after being released by Atletico Madrid before the start of the new season.

If signed, Arias is unlikely to start ahead of Dalot – who has created the joint most chances in the league for United – but could certainly act as a decent cover for him in the cup competitions.