Manchester United have no need to invest in another right-back says Rene Meulensteen, with the former Red Devils coach surprised by links to Kieran Trippier as Aaron Wan-Bissaka has proved to be an “excellent buy”.
It has been suggested that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will dip back into the transfer market for defensive reinforcements. There have been plenty of calls for a new centre-half to be added to the ranks at Old Trafford, with Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos billed as a potential target, but full-back may also be bolstered.
A raid on Atletico Madrid for England international Trippier has been mooted, but Meulensteen believes Premier League title hopefuls already have a long-term option in that area of the field.
Asked by Stadium Astro whether United need to be investing in another right-sided defender, Sir Alex Ferguson’s former assistant said: “Not at the moment. It’s always good to have two players for a position because you need back-up but Aaron Wan-Bissaka has done fantastically well.
“He’s young still, he’s very fit and learns every day in training. He is one of the best one-v-one defenders in the league and I’m sure the coaching staff are working hard with him on his game. He is there, for me, to stay for a long, long time. He was an excellent buy for United.”
On the opposite side of the field to Wan-Bissaka, United have two proven options at their disposal. Alex Telles was snapped up from Porto in the summer of 2020, but Luke Shaw has made the left-back spot his own with an impressive run of injury-free performances.
“He has done very well,” Meulensteen said. “When Telles came in, it spurred Luke on. There is a spring in his step, he is going forward again.
“We all know he has had some tough times at Manchester United, but it is great to see him playing at his best.”
Meulensteen added, with Shaw able to call upon the kind of support from Solskjaer that he lacked under the Norwegian’s predecessor, Jose Mourinho: “First of all I don’t think managers should publicly discuss players, never mind criticise them.
“Every human being performers better if they get praise and support in the right way. Every player has bad spells but the coaching staff are there to help him.
“It’s easy to criticise but the managers and staff have an obligation to improve players. Ole’s style has been different to Jose’s because he would never criticise players in public and he makes every player in his squad important. Ole is very clear about what a Man United should be. That is the right way forward.”