Transfer News: Manchester United keen on RC Lens defender Facundo Medina

Manchester United are reportedly interested in Facundo Medina and are keeping a close eye on his developing situation at RC Lens.

According to RMC Sport Correspondent Sacha Tavolieri, Facundo Medina is drawing interest from Premier League giants Manchester United. The Red Devils are reportedly among a number of clubs interested in Medina, who has been attracting attention due to his performances for RC Lens in Ligue 1.

The report further states that while Manchester United have registered an interest in Medina, he is among a number of names on their shortlist and is not their main target as at the present moment.

Manchester United are interested in signing Lens defender Facundo Medina, who is attracting plenty of interest at the moment. Medina is not the main target for United but is on the list – nothing concrete yet. #MUFC [@sachatavolieri]

— mufcmpb (@mufcMPB) December 26, 2020

Facundo Medina is a central defender by trade but can also be deputised at left-back. The 21-year-old joined RC Lens in the summer of 2020 and has firmly established himself in the first-team setup at the Ligue 1 club, playing 11 of their 16 league matches in the 2020/21 season so far.

The left-footed centre-back is not as tall as a classic central defender but has all the other attributes. The 21-year-old uses his strength to good effect in one-on-situations and excels in interceptions and tackles – all hallmarks of a true defender. To add to it, Medina has a good range of passes on him and averages over 80% in passing accuracy.

The Lens defender, though, is a bit on the aggressive side and tends to give away fouls and attract yellow cards more often than not. However, the Argentine defender could be viewed as an ideal defender to add to the Manchester United squad.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has shown he wants his side to play out from the back and the team could do with someone like Medina to spray passes and find teammates with darting balls. Manchester United also lack a left-footed centre-back currently and adding Medina to their repertoire would enable Solskjaer to resume the left foot, right foot combination in central defence.

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In terms of the current options available to Solskjaer, Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo are frozen out and likely to depart soon. Apart from Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, that leaves Manchester United with Axel Tuanzebe and an injury-prone Eric Bailly as options, especially at a time when fitness levels have been further tested by the fixture congestion borne out of the ongoing pandemic.

Combine that with the fact that Manchester United have been pushed down to the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group and the rigours of Thursday night football warrant a better depth, especially in the 2020/21 campaign.

As mentioned above, Medina isn’t a priority target for Solskjaer’s Manchester United right now. However, with January deals a tough nut to crack when it comes to star players, we could see the Red Devils pursue the Argentine youngster after attempting moves for defenders higher up in their priority list.