Manchester United are really suffering due to their lack of defensive signings in the summer.
Injury woes
United rebuilt their midfield in the summer, bringing in Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba.
Nonetheless, there were no new additions in defence and their lack of numbers is really starting to show.
Michael Carrick confirmed that Lisandro Martinez and Ayden Heaven are not in the squad to face 1907 Como in the Champions League, and Leny Yoro is suspended after his red card in Madrid on matchday two.
This means that Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt, who has not played since November 2025, are the only two fit senior centre-backs available for the match.
Josh Acheampong interest
One player United have looked at in the past for the centre-back position is Josh Acheampong at Chelsea.
TalkSPORT report that, “sources have told them that Manchester United were among the clubs who made enquiries for Acheampong.”
Nonetheless, the deal did not progress as the London club seem to have no intention of letting the player leave.
In fact, any future move seems highly unlikely as “Chelsea are set to hand defender Josh Acheampong a bumper new contract.”
The 20-year-old has played in six of Chelsea’s seven Premier League matches this season and appears to be a key part of Xabi Alonso’s squad moving forward.
The article asserts, “the Blues rejected offers from clubs in England and Europe in the summer after declaring the England Under-21 star ‘untouchable’.”
His current deal expires in 2029, but he will be offered a much longer contract on improved terms to commit his future to the West London side.
United will take on Como this evening in a must-win Champions League encounter at 17:45 BST.
| Stat | 2026/27 · Chelsea | 2026/27 · Chelsea | 2026/27 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | 2026/27 | 2026/27 | 2026/27 |
| Club | Chelsea | Chelsea | Chelsea |
| Competition | Premier League | League Cup | All competitions |
| Apps | 6 | 2 | 8 |
| Minutes | 401 | 180 | 581 |
| Starts | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Sub appearances | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-penalty goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Assists | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goals + assists | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minutes per goal | – | – | – |
| Avg rating | 6.48 | 7.23 | 6.71 |
| Shots | – | 0 | 0 |
| Shots on target | – | 0 | 0 |
| Shot accuracy % | – | – | – |
| Conversion % | – | – | – |
| Passes | 158 | 121 | 279 |
| Pass accuracy % | 83.0% | 93.0% | 87.3% |
| Key passes | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Dribbles attempted | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Dribbles completed | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Dribble success % | 42.9% | 100.0% | 50.0% |
| Tackles | 14 | 6 | 20 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| Tackles + interceptions | 16 | 8 | 24 |
| Blocks | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Duels | 41 | 13 | 54 |
| Duels won | 22 | 11 | 33 |
| Duels won % | 53.7% | 84.6% | 61.1% |
| Dribbled past | – | – | – |
| Fouls won | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties won | – | – | – |
| Penalties conceded | – | – | – |
| Penalties scored | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties missed | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
