Manchester United have been told that highly-rated centre-back Olivier Boscagli should be lining up in their defence because he is “so good”.
The French defender was heavily linked with a move to Premier League rivals Brighton during the summer transfer window but a switch to the south coast failed to materialise, despite speculation he demanded that his current club PSV allow him to make the move to England.
But as the summer window drew to a close, Boscagli remained at the Dutch giants, where he has been since joining them from Nice in 2019.
However, journalist Suleyman Ozturk feels that the 26-year-old is more than good enough to be turning out for the Red Devils instead.
He told VI Uncensored, via FC Update: “Boscagli is so good. He should actually be in defence at Manchester United.”
United have certainly made a point of trying to upgrade a defence that struggled last season, due to injuries and a loss of form from some of their key performers.
Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt were brought in to bolster the centre-back area, while Noussair Mazraoui has replaced Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back and Diogo Dalot continues to deputise at left-back.
Boscagli is an experienced performer, having played 115 games in the Dutch top flight and 229 times in his club career so far.
His metrics also stack up very well compared to centre-backs in the next 14 leagues according to FBRef.
Boscagli ranks in the 99th percentile for passes completed, total pass distance, medium passes and long passes. He also ranks in the 99th percentile for touches, showing he is comfortable in possession and there is the massive added bonus of him being able to play left-back as well – a position United are still looking to address going forward.
He ranks in the 96th percentile for interceptions and in the 99th percentile for recoveries to complete an impressive set of figures.
