{"id":49976,"date":"2026-04-23T18:58:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=49976"},"modified":"2026-04-23T18:58:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T13:28:17","slug":"does-van-de-ven-enter-the-list-as-united-push-for-left-footed-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/football\/transfer-news\/does-van-de-ven-enter-the-list-as-united-push-for-left-footed-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Van de Ven enter the list? As United push for left-footed solution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United have started planning for the added demands of Champions League football, with recruitment staff identifying defence as a key area for improvement.<\/p>\n<p>The club believes an additional centre-back is needed to handle the increased workload next season. The focus is clear. United want a physically strong, left-footed defender who can add balance to the backline.<\/p>\n<p>One name under serious consideration is Micky van de Ven. The Dutch defender has caught attention despite a mixed defensive season. His overall contribution remains notable. He has scored seven goals in 40 appearances, showing his threat in attacking situations.<\/p>\n<p>United sources feel his profile fits the current need. His pace is seen as a major strength. His ability to carry the ball forward and break lines adds another dimension. His tackling and recovery speed are also viewed as key assets, especially in high-intensity European matches.<\/p>\n<p>However, concerns remain. His defensive inconsistency over the past season has raised questions. United\u2019s recruitment team is weighing the risk against the potential upside.<\/p>\n<p>With Champions League football possibly returning, squad depth is now a priority. United are expected to explore multiple options before making a final decision.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Manchester United have started planning for the added demands of Champions League football, with recruitment staff identifying defence as a\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":49980,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4660],"tags":[3918,3796,5168,5298,249,2907,1747,1162,4722],"class_list":["post-49976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transfer-news","tag-english-premier-league","tag-football","tag-football-transfer-window","tag-left-footed-centre-back","tag-manchester-united","tag-michael-carrick","tag-spurs","tag-tottenham-hotspur","tag-transfer-news"],"reading_time":"1 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/202"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49976"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49976\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49985,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49976\/revisions\/49985"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49980"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}