Manchester United came into this season off the back of a top-four finish and League Cup triumph, but instead of kicking on and progressing, they have found themselves ten steps back and enduring one of their most tumultuous seasons in recent years.
Erik ten Hag's men have crashed out of the Champions League group stages and currently find themselves in seventh place in the league after they picked up a point from their shock draw away to Liverpool.
While the players haven't been good enough, the absences of key men such as Lisandro Martínez certainly hasn't helped, as the Argentine was a vital member of the successful campaign last year.
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The club have clearly recognised that the defence needs more reinforcements, and they might even be able to sign the perfect player to play alongside Martinez, Fikayo Tomori.
Manchester United transfer news – Fikayo Tomori
According to reports from Italy, Manchester United are very interested in AC Milan's incredibly talented Englishman, Tomori, and while the Serie A side would rather keep hold of the 25-year-old, a sale could be sanctioned for the right price.
That price would be around €40m, which comes out to about £34m, and while that's not an insignificant amount of money by any stretch of the imagination, it's not prohibitively expensive for a team like United.
Furthermore, the former Chelsea man has more than proven his worth in Milan since he joined, helping the team win the Scudetto for the first time in 11 years in 2022 and playing a pivotal role in the side that reached the Champions League semi-finals last season.
Why Tomori is perfect for Lisandro Martínez
The arrival of Tomori would also likely be welcomed by Martinez, for as good as Harry Maguire has been recently – winning November's Premier League Player of the Month – he clearly isn't the long-term solution at centre-back and, while Raphael Varane appears to be back in the picture at the moment, who knows where he really stands with Ten Hag.
No, were the Red Devils to sign Tomori, it would likely be with the idea of making him a starting centre-back and with FBref considering the Argentine to be the number one most similar player to him in Europe's top five leagues, they could form a brilliant partnership together.
Furthermore, the fact that the "extraordinary" Englishman, as described by Milan CEO Ivan Gazidis, is right-footed and Martinez left-footed can only help them develop as a pair.
But how does Tomori compare to the players he might be replacing?
Well, while he produces a slightly lower attacking threat than Varane, but he comes out on top in all the critical defensive statistics, including tackles and interceptions, as well as a lower number of miscontrols per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.12
0.09
0.14
Passing Accuracy
90.3%
83.4%
89.3%
Tackles Won
1.35
0.55
0.82
Interceptions
1.35
1.34
0.94
Miscontrols
0.29
0.63
0.35
Such metrics certainly prove that he could be a game-changing signing for the club's defence. Gone will be the days of Maguire, Jonny Evans and Co. The thought of Tomori and Martinez together is a menacing one.
Ultimately, the Milan defender is a quality player, and if United really can get their hands on him for as little as £34m, then Ten Hag should be forcing the board into action.
