The £45m full-back transfer that could finally relight Manchester United's attack spark
Manchester United have been offered the chance to buy a wing-back who could add some much-needed firepower to their attack.
As Chelsea’s rollercoaster transfer window continues with its spiralling series of brief highs, sudden drops and unpredictable loop-de-loops, quite a few high-profile players are being hurled over the side as the safety mechanisms fail – or, to close down this tenuous metaphor, as the club decide to jettison big earners in order to fund the next phase of a seemingly aimless spending spree.
Ben Chilwell is one such victim of another truly bizarre summer at Stamford Bridge, but as much as it may sting to be publicly tossed aside and told that he is “free to leave” by Enzo Maresca, it could work out well for the player and, if reports are to be believed, Manchester United.
TalkSport claimed on Wednesday that the 27-year-old left-back had been offered to United as Chelsea look to offload a player that Maresca claimed “struggles… to find his best position.” That isn’t something that Chilwell seemed to find too problematic before – he’s an attacking wing-back, and that could be just what United need.
Throughout last season, the combination of a deep-set defence and high attacking line that Erik ten Hag sought to play with created a problem – most of his full-backs and midfielders were too slow to cover the ground required to support the direct attacks that their style demanded, and the result was a front three that was often isolated, or a defence which lacked cover when United were hit on the counter-attack. Adding pace and attacking quality at full-back could help to cover some of those deficiencies.
And even if there weren’t tactical issues at play, United need cover at left-back anyway. Luke Shaw has a rough ride with injuries of late, Tyrell Malacia has been out for over a year after suffering serious cruciate ligament damage, and both Diogo Dalot and new signing Nouassir Mazraoui are naturally right-sided players. Only Malacia has the speed and attacking inclination to get forward to help Marcus Rashford effectively, and his future is far from certain after such a long lay-off.
Chilwell, on the other hand, has good top-end speed and knows how to create chances from out wide. Even last season, when he failed to find his best form for Chelsea, he created around 25% more shooting chances for his team-mates, more than double the expected assists and created far more passing options downfield, receiving the ball in advanced positions more than three times as often as Shaw did on a game-by-game basis. And at his best, Chilwell is certainly capable of more.
He isn’t as reliable as a defender and it’s certainly hard to imagine him covering at centre-half as Shaw has done so well when required, but he could easily offer some of the width and offensive support that United need to balance their team and create more chances going forward. Not that there isn’t one major issues with a prospective deal.
Chilwell has had his own torrid time with injuries over the past few years, and there’s a strong argument that the last thing United need is another full-back who can’t stay fit. A cruciate ligament tear in the 2021/22 season was followed by three major hamstring problems and a recurring knee issue, and the result has been 100 missed matches in three seasons. Any medical that took place would need to be very thorough indeed and signing Chilwell would certainly be a risk.
Assessing how good of a risk it might be is challenging without knowing what kind of transfer fee Chelsea would demand or the length of contract the former Leicester City full-back would want to make the move, but the upside from a strictly playing perspective has the potential to be high even if the downside isn’t something that can be readily ignored. But if the price is right, Chilwell is capable of injecting the attacking impetus into United’s team that has been lacking for the last year or so.
As it stands, we have no reports indicating that United have made a bid and no idea whether they would consider one. There may well be other teams who are willing to take a chance on Chilwell’s fitness knowing that he can be destructive when at his best. He has, at his best and healthiest, always been a wing-back who knows how to create chances and get the ball quickly downfield and into dangerous areas – and United may not be the only team who could do with that in their squad.