Why Manchester United must not miss the chance to sign Ben Chilwell
According to The Metro, Manchester United have identified Leicester City’s Ben Chilwell as a primary summer transfer target, despite the emergence of Brandon Williams.
Ben Chilwell, 23 has impressed for Leicester in all competitions this season, assisting 4 times and scoring a goal in 22 appearances. He has made 112 appearances for the Foxes ever since breaking into the first-team in 2016 after a brief loan spell at Huddersfield Town.
The Red Devils have two left-backs in their squad – Luke Shaw and Brandon Williams. The former has been inconsistent, and with prolonging fitness issues, he has failed to live up to the expectations. The report also adds that United are willing to listen to offers for the 24-year-old who has been linked with Leicester in recent weeks.
Williams, meanwhile, has been excellent since coming through the youth ranks at Old Trafford and has been consistently performing well in the place of Shaw. He has been one of the uplifting aspects in United’s torrid campaign and has shown promises despite his tender age.
However, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists that the academy product is not yet ready to be considered an automatic starter, as per the report.
Nonetheless, former Aston Villa man Ashley Young’s departure to Inter Milan has further added to their left-back crisis. And it is clear that the Red Devils need to reinforce the left-back area at the earliest since Williams is too young to start regularly.
Thus, an interest in Ben Chilwell does make sense. The England international has developed himself into one of the better full-backs in the Premier League, which is a testament to his development, having played the back-up role to Christian Fuchs at the King Power Stadium until 2017.
The 23-year-old, who is also capable of being effective in a team’s attack, which is evident from his assists this term. He has also made 1.2 key passes per game. [Whoscored]
He has averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 2.2 clearances per game too. He has been only dribbled past at an average of 0.7 times per game, which is a testament to his defensive ability. [Whoscored]
As far as Luke Shaw is concerned, he hasn’t been able to put in a string of performances due to his fitness issues. And, on the other side, Chilwell has been regular and has put in strong performances for Leicester.
Verdict
Shaw has done a decent job this season whenever he has played but nothing can be said of his consistency. Meanwhile, Chilwell has been getting better each day and has helped Brendan Rodgers’ side immensely in terms of attack.
Thus, United must not miss the chance to sign Chilwell, whom Manchester City have dropped interest upon, according to the report.
