Manchester United could copy Pep Guardiola’s tactics and get the surprise of Leny Yoro

Manchester United fans will recognize that Pep Guardiola has been at the forefront of tactical evolution.

Guardiola made the false nine fashionable, introduced the back game to England and more recently started playing centre-backs in full-back roles. Other managers followed Guardiola’s tactical innovations and his former assistant manager Mikel Arteta took the idea of ​​the centre-back and ran with it at the Emirates.

Arteta played Ben White out of position and Guardiola rotated the roles of Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol, all three of whom played regularly at full-back last season, providing added defensive solidity on the wings and an edge in build-up play. .

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Center backs tend to be much better one-on-one defenders than traditional full-backs and that’s an obvious positive, but playing a natural centre-half as a full-back also allows teams to have a back three in the making , which helps to press up and defend against counter attacks.

Playing centre-backs out of position became a popular trend last season, with Liverpool and Aston Villa playing Joe Gomez and Ezri Konsa as their full-backs respectively. The four teams that have finished top of the Premier League have all used the innovation, suggesting that there is an advantage in doing so if implemented correctly.

Now in come United and Erik ten Hag, who has often instructed his defenders to play an inverted role, which is why Diogo Dalot comes into midfield on the right. The Ten Hag may be happy with his current system and believe it doesn’t need to be changed, but an elite manager adapts to the players at his disposal and United’s squad changes this summer with Leny Yoro and Aaron Wan-Bissaka . expected to leave.

Wan-Bissaka has entered the final year of his contract and selling him this summer is the last opportunity to recoup a decent fee for someone who signed for £50m in the summer of 2019, which West Ham are said to be interested.

Although a move for Wan-Bissaka would leave Dalot as the only senior right-back in the squad, Yoro is flying to Manchester for a medical and is an option for the role. Yoro is a natural centre-back and made 44 appearances at the heart of Lille’s defense last season, but starting in central defense at just 18 in the Premier League will be a tough challenge and could be slotted into the team at right-back.

Like any player at his age, Yoro needs time to develop physically and playing him at right-back would allow him to improve and gain experience without moving into central defence. As the last line of defence, centre-backs are exposed and tested by the opposition more than any other outfield player and Yoro may not be up to the challenge.

He is a defender for the future – United hope he will become one of the best in the world – but throwing him into the deep end immediately is not advisable. Yoro has the qualities to excel at right back for United.

It may not be a position Yoro has played before, but he’s comfortable with the ball at his feet, reads the game smartly, and his natural athleticism will help him adapt. His long-term future is up in the air, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at fullback this season.