Manchester United's Defensive Struggles Under Scrutiny

Manchester United’s defence is back under the microscope – and this time, the criticism is coming from one of their own.

Last season’s third-place finish and Champions League return papered over a glaring issue: 50 goals conceded in 38 league games. Arsenal, who went on to win the title, let in almost half that. The numbers told the story. United chose not to act.

The summer of 2026 came and went without a defensive overhaul. Money went into the midfield, the attack had already been strengthened the year before, and the back line was left to make do. Now, with only four points from four games and no clean sheet in the Premier League, the questions over that strategy are getting louder.

They shipped two at Hull. Two at home to Ipswich. Two more at Everton. Then Erling Haaland twisted the knife with a controversial winner for City in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. The pattern is clear. The solutions are not.

Simpson sounds the alarm

Former United full-back Danny Simpson, speaking to GOAL on behalf of Free Bets, did not sugar-coat it.

“They're conceding too many goals,” he said. “Yes, we're good going forward though, most of the time.”

The attacking flair, in his eyes, is masking a structural problem. For Simpson, the warning signs were obvious even before this season kicked off.

“I think it was well documented that we needed a left-back with Luke [Shaw]. Even though Luke was fantastic last season, I think everyone knows Luke can't play two games a week. We want to be in all the competitions. So there's now eight games in the Champions League, and you want to go far in the cups.”

United did move Patrick Dorgu into the role, and Simpson pointed to the weekend’s derby as evidence of the new reality.

“Patrick Dorgu, he's in at left-back. We've seen that at the weekend [against City]. The way he played last season before he got injured, higher up, was a decent threat. Centre-back? I think Harry [Maguire] and [Lisandro] Martinez are the two.”

That sounds like a spine. It doesn’t sound like a settled unit.

Full-back roulette

Simpson’s biggest concern lies out wide.

“I do worry about full-backs,” he admitted. “I think the inconsistency - one week it's [Noussair] Mazraoui, then it's [Diogo] Dalot, then one week they are an eight, next week they are five.”

The numbers are his, but the meaning is universal. No top side can live with that kind of volatility in its back line.

“I don't think anyone in any league, whether you're playing in the Premier League, the Champions League, trying to do well, you can't have players in your defence that are one week doing eight and the next week five.”

Simpson drew a clear distinction between the standards required in defence and the leeway afforded further forward.

“I think up top you can, because if you've got a winger that's playing a five, you're going to change him and he normally gets swapped after six or seven. You can't do that with your defence. You need a set back four that's a seven every week. And then if they're not playing, who comes in?”

Right now, the answers to that question are not reassuring him.

Yoro under scrutiny

United do have bodies in reserve, but not all of them have convinced. Leny Yoro, signed from Lille in 2024, is firmly in Simpson’s sights.

The centre-back is still only 20 and has already made 69 appearances for the club. Experience is not the issue. Progress is.

“Yoro hasn't kicked on at all. He's been here two years now?” Simpson said, before turning to the physical demands of English football.

“You look at everything, when he came in he was young and slight, why is he not in the gym? Why has he not got any bigger? Why is he not stronger? He doesn't look like he's done anything in two years in terms of his physique. You know the Premier League is tough.”

It was a blunt assessment of a player many at the club still see as a long-term project. Simpson’s view is harsher: potential is not enough when the goals keep going in.

He also highlighted the uncertainty around other options.

“Dalot's injured, [Ayden] Heaven, we haven't seen him since the Hull game, not surprised, probably the wrong game for him to play in. Hull away in the start of the season against Oliver McBurnie, probably not the best.”

For Simpson, the conclusion is simple, even if implementing it is anything but.

“So, your back four is your back four - which is Shaw, Martinez, Maguire and Dalot.”

That is the defensive line he believes Michael Carrick must build around. No more chopping and changing. No more experiments in key positions.

United chose not to fix their biggest weakness in the transfer market. Now they are trying to do it on the pitch, under pressure, with the Champions League looming and the margins shrinking every week.