United's centre-back's problems are bigger than expected, with officials telling us that Lisandro is out of injury this season and Varane will not be available in April. As a result, Manchester United can basically rely on the old centre-back combination of Harry Maguire + Lindelof to face the intensive schedule ahead, but don't forget what Lindelof said during the international break, saying that he broke his toe in September last year and is still a little uncomfortable, and he can play but wear a bigger shoe.
This means that United's truly healthy centre-back is only Harry Maguire. Now, Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw are close to returning from injury, they may be the candidates to play central defender in the future for a period of time, Ten Hach has also said that B Fei has said that he also played central defender, that is, Manchester United now has Casemiro, McTominay, Luke Shaw, B fee and other 4 players can appear in the central defender position.
Manchester United is not the first time this has happened, after the return of the World Cup, Varane was injured, Lisandro participated in the World Cup celebrations, Manchester United also used Luke Shaw, Casemiro played central defenders, it was considered to have survived the shortage of central defenders in four games at that time. Difficulties are real, but as long as the mind does not slip, there are always more solutions than difficulties, right?
Playing centre-backs with first-team midfielders is one way to play, and it's also one way to select academy players. At present, Manchester United's youth team has a number of youngsters such as 20-year-old Menji, 20-year-old Hadley, 17-year-old Louis Jackson and 18-year-old Cambwala as options. Louis Jackson is said to be one of the most talented, having been named to The Guardian's list of the 50 most young stars in the Premier League, but Ten Hach appears to have opted for 20-year-old centre-back Hadley, who appeared in Manchester United's pre-match training session against Nottingham Forest.
Hadley joined Manchester United in 2019 on the recommendation of Manchester United scouts Rene Moonen, who sat on the bench in last season's Champions League group stage against Bernier Juniors, and now has no first-team appearances, according to Rene Moonen, when Hadley played in the Netherlands, Manchester United sent a total of 4 scouts to scout, and finally decided to sign the young player.
It is worth noting that Hadley is from the Netherlands, is 189cm tall and is a left-footed central defender. Hadley has excellent technique at his feet and has participated in regular first-team training many times this season, and when Manchester United's first-team rivalry is not in place for a centre-back, he will be brought in with him. In fact, he has often participated in Manchester United's first team training since 2021, when he basically existed as a sparring partner, and now that Manchester United has a central defensive shortage, his participation in Manchester United's first team training has a special significance, as a regular central defender, should be able to enter the squad for the competition.
Hadley is not just a left-centre-back position, he can play anywhere in a centre-back, and is said to be a centre-back with a lot of control. In the winter window this year, it was rumored that Manchester United wanted to loan Bernard and Hadley two academy central defenders, but I don't know why Manchester United just loaned Bernard and left Hadley as a substitute. Judging from the current situation of youth training, Menji, who has been out of the squad for a long time, is unlikely to gain time in the first team, but Hadley, who has performed well in the youth echelon in recent years, is more worth looking forward to.