Manchester United want Bundesliga man mountain, a good deal?

Kolkata, January 7: As per rumours in England, Manchester United are targeting highly rated Borussia Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou on a six-month loan deal.

The 22-year-old is regarded as one of the most gifted defensive talents of his age bracket and Dortmund are running the risk of losing him for free in six months' time with his contract set to expire.

And, his contract situation has believed to have alerted Ralf Rangnick as the German tactician looks to sort out the defensive crisis at Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have been hit by somewhat of a crisis in defence of late and a new central defender would definitely ease the situation.

United captain Harry Maguire missed the 1-0 defeat by Wolves after picking up a knock while Eric Bailly tweaked his hamstring playing against Burnley last week and Victor Lindelof is trying to shake off the effects of Covid. Raphael Varane is fit at the moment but his injury records are also far from impressive.

The situation is so horrible that Rangnick was forced to recall Phil Jones for his first senior game since January 2020 for the drab Wolves loss.

Zagadou has been a very highly-rated defender since his younger days and has been chased by some of the biggest clubs in the past including Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Arsenal and United themselves. The 22-year-old got his football education at the youth set-up of his hometown club US Creteil before joining Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 12. He was eventually snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in 2017 and has since made a total of 80 appearances for the BVB.

A left-footed central defender and that too with a huge frame of 6 feet 5 inches, it is hardly a surprise that Zagadou has been so much wanted since his teenage days. with his height, the Frenchman is quite naturally a menace in the air and should not struggle to cope with the physicality of the Premier League. He is also extremely fast for a defender and that too so much tall. Good on the ball, pacey and press resistant, Zagadou can also slot in at left back when needed and can prove to be a competition for under-performing Luke Shaw and Alex Telles as well.

The only thing discouraging about the player is his injury history but on a loan deal, he makes plenty of sense for the Red Devils. Especially if he does well at Old Trafford and can stay injury free, they can land him on a free transfer and that would save them millions and get a tested quality player as well.