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Manchester United survived an early scare with Andre Onana forced into saving a penalty before eventually thrashing Southampton 3-0 on Saturday.
The defence was put under intense pressure with Diogo Dalot starting slowly while Matthijs de Ligt was also initially looking shaky.
But the Dutchman made a couple of crucial interventions before opening the scoring and he went from strength to strength throughout the rest of the game after a difficult international break.
However, in bad news, the former Ajax star along with Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez all suffered injuries while substitute Harry Maguire was also spotted limping at the end of the game.
Injuries at the back
Erik ten Hag has already lost summer signing Leny Yoro to a long-term injury while Victor Lindelof also remains sidelined and the club can ill afford another injury nightmare at the back like last season.
The manager did not confirm the extent of the injuries but INEOS might need to keep their eyes open considering the team’s poor luck with injuries.
Interestingly, one defender who was closely being monitored by the club during the summer window has suddenly become a free agent.
The Peoples Person had relayed that the Red Devils were interested in RB Salzburg’s Oumar Solet and with a year left on his current deal, there was a chance to land the Frenchman on a cut-price deal.
OFFIZIELL: Der FC Red Bull Salzburg und Oumar Solet haben ihre Zusammenarbeit beendet. Der noch ein Jahr laufende Vertrag mit dem 24-jährigen Franzosen wurde vorzeitig und in beiderseitigem Einvernehmen aufgelöst. Alles Gute auf deinem weiteren Karriereweg, Oumar! 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/9EgbaZWLbB
— FC Red Bull Salzburg (@RedBullSalzburg) September 14, 2024
However, in a shocking twist, the Austrian outfit announced that the France U20 international’s contract was being mutually terminated a year before its conclusion.
“OFFICIAL: FC Red Bull Salzburg and Oumar Solet have ended their collaboration. The 24-year-old Frenchman’s contract, which still had a year to run, was terminated early and by mutual agreement,” the club wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Soulet a free agent now
No official reason was given and it will be interesting to hear what exactly happened. However, the chance to sign the 24-year-old might be too good of an opportunity to pass by for the 20-time English league champions.
Last season, Solet helped keep 11 clean sheets in 28 games across all competitions, while scoring twice and registering one assist as well.
He was in the top 10 percent among his peers in Austria for duels won while being in the top four percent for dribbles (as per fotmob) which highlights how comfortable he is with the ball.
There was a lot of interest from clubs in Germany and Italy and it will be interesting to see if INEOS actually make a move for the free agent. There might be more to the story and hence the wait for now.
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