Man Utd Must Fork Out For £60m Adrien Truffert To End Left-Back Saga

· GiveMeSport

Manchester United failed to sign a new left back in the summer, and remain in the market for a successor to Luke Shaw.

There was no shortage of links with full-back targets, Newcastle United man Lewis Hall seemingly the number one candidate , but the Red Devils could not get a deal across the line. It's a transfer error that looms large over Carrick's work this term.

AFC Bournemouth man Adrien Truffert is another who has been mooted, and The Standard this weekend claim that a £60 million price tag has been put on the 24-year-old's head. It's a huge fee, but perhaps the right deal for Man Utd.

With 329 Man Utd appearances to his name, Shaw has been a stalwart since arriving at the club from Southampton in 2014, winning two Europa League titles and a Carabao Cup.

However, at 31 years old and injury-prone, the former England international is being undone by much less experienced players with pace to burn. Shaw committed errors in the defeats to both Hull City and Ipswich Town, that a former version of himself would not have done.

talkSPORT correspondent Alex Crook slammed the player for his start to the season. Crook said:

> "I've got no words. I've got no words. Luke Shaw was awful at Hull last week. He was awful again there. He has been awful for how many years?"

> "He is part of the problem. He is part of the reason that Man Utd don't keep clean sheets."

> "He is part of the reason they keep losing football matches and yet, there is no sign of anyone coming in to replace him."

While dramatic, Crook's rant underlines the fact that until the Red Devils find a successor for the position, the weak point will continue.

The £60 million that AFC Bournemouth are demanding for Truffert is a huge sum. Only five larger fees have been paid by Premier League clubs for a defender previously.

However, if that is the price it costs to fix the problem at Old Trafford, then so be it. What's more, Truffert appears to have all the attributes that Shaw is losing.

Truffert is very reliable with his defensive work, currently in the top two per cent of top flight defenders for tackles won this term. His 5.8 duels won per 90 is also a better average than 81% of other defenders.

Truffert also posts respectable statistics for ball carrying and crossing. By February last season, no player had made more overlapping runs.

The Frenchman also has the legs to start week in, week out for Man Utd. The full-back made 38 league starts for the Cherries last term and covered over 402 kilometres in the season - the third highest of any player in the Premier League.

This is a workhorse of a player and those attributes make a £60 million fee begin to feel good value. The left-back saga is one that Man Utd must end, and Truffert looks to be a ready-made solution.

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