Manchester United can begin Harry Maguire succession plan and beat Arsenal to £18m defensive gem

Manchester United will need to overhaul the squad in the summer, but what positions do they need to address?

In the previous two instalments of this transfer breakdown series, we touched on the goalkeeper position and also the right-back situation, which you can read here. This time around, we are going to look at a less pressing issue, but equally a position that United could look to solve if the opportunity presents itself.

And that is a fourth-choice centre-back who could become a long-term option for the club.

So, as always, we will break down the situation, the profile of the player United should target and then the player who I believe best suits United with all of those factors considered.

The situation

Manchester United have three centre-backs of starting quality in Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.

The issue, however, is that Maguire is in the midst of some of his worst form in a United shirt and Varane has been injured more often than he's not since signing last summer. This makes it hard for Ralf Rangnick to create a stable partnership that can consistently play together and there is also a further issue that the two centre-backs that occupy the fourth and fifth-choice spots present a steep drop-off in on-the-ball quality.

Eric Bailly has great defensive instincts and is able to put them to good use when fit but he too is plagued by consistent injury problems. In January, it also was reported that he wanted to leave Old Trafford and the summer looks like a good time for all parties to move on.

Phil Jones has been at the club three to four seasons too long and United should also look to move him on in the summer if they can find a club that is willing to sign him.

This means that United need