Aleksandar Dragovic Would Be Chris Smalling's Ideal Partner at Manchester United

According to Sport Mediaset (h/t Will Giles for Metro.co.uk), Aleksandar Dragovic is once again interesting Manchester United as they search for January reinforcements. £16 million is the price touted to be enough to extract him from Dynamo Kiev’s ranks, and Louis van Gaal—despite overseeing a rather solid defensive setup this season—is reportedly willing to pay it.

Despite a joint-second-best Premier League defensive record of just 20 goals conceded in 21 matches, United’s line has been besieged by uncertainty this season. Chris Smalling is the shining pillar of light in the setup, second only to the magnificent David De Gea, but the other three roles have been an alarming mishmash of personnel.

At full-back, Ashley Young has had to step in on the right as Matteo Darmian’s form and fitness has tailed off, Luke Shaw has a broken leg and Antonio Valencia looks done for the campaign, too. In the centre, next to Smalling, rotation has been heavy, with Phil Jones (six starts), Paddy McNair (three starts) and Marcos Rojo (five starts) all sharing the load once Daley Blind had been forced to move to the left in place of Shaw.

Spanish publication Fichajes (via James Cambridge in the Express) have linked Rojo to Real Madrid this winter, suggesting all is not so well with the Argentinian’s current trajectory at United, while Mats Hummels is yet to commit to extending his contract at Borussia Dortmund, per the Manchester Evening News, allowing fresh Old Trafford links to surface.

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Overall, it paints a picture of uncertainty and instability in United’s defensive personnel, despite their impressive record. Looking at the goals-scored column in the Premier League table—where United have managed just 27, just one more than relegation-battlers Sunderland—you might suggest attacking upgrades are direly required, but delve deeper and it’s clear there are defensive questions to be answered, too.

With Rojo a distinctly average performer—not poor, but not outstanding in many areas—and Jones’ injury proneness a serious issue moving forward, Smalling could use a regular, reliable central-defensive partner.

If Rojo and Jones are not the answer—and it increasingly seems as though they are not—then an acquisition makes sense.

So how does Dragovic measure up, and would he be the perfect accompaniment to Smalling in the heart of United’s defence? The short answer is, with a little time to bed in and adjust, yes.

Dragovic has been on the radar for some time now and should be a name reasonably familiar to even the casual European football fan. He’s played in the latter stages of the UEFA Europa League with Basel against both Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and he took the Blues on again twice in 2015 after his current club Dynamo Kiev were drawn in Champions League Group G with them.

He’s also a core part of an upwardly mobile Austrian national side, playing all 10 games in a remarkably successful UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying period, partnering Watford’s Sebastian Prodl and sitting just inside of Leicester City’s Christian Fuchs. The team went unbeaten, progressed first from a group containing Russia and Sweden, and conceded just five goals along the way.

Dragovic is a well-rounded defender who will greatly appeal to the masses. He combines positional nous with aggression, pro-activeness and ball-playing skills. He is no limited stopper or sweeper, and he does not rely on athletic attributes to get by.

Credit: 2+2

At Dynamo, he has played in a back four and has been given license to step out and intercept high up the field, following strikers inward to prevent them from retrieving long balls forward cleanly. He times his challenges well and often steps in to cut things out, but he can be a little over-aggressive at times and commit fouls.

The best part of his defensive skill set, though, is found going in the other direction. Dragovic has surprising burst and recovery speed, allowing him to run yard-for-yard with strikers over the top and hook a foot in to swipe the ball away. Again, the timing of his challenge here is imperative; he’s frequently found in positions where committing a foul could be considered a serious problem.

Credit: Sky

He’s nullified strikers of all types; this season he’s recorded a clean sheet against Diego Costa and prevented Zlatan Ibrahimovic from dictating in a 4-1 win over Sweden in Stockholm, with this particular duel showcasing just how smart he can be when choosing when and where not to stick a leg in.

On the ball, he’s developed into a calm, ball-playing outlet. Earlier in his career, he was perhaps a little guilty of saying “anywhere will do” with some of his clearances, but now he’s a heads-up player, constantly searching for a long pass to execute or an attack to set up. Rather than play it short consistently, racking up the pass-completion percentage figure, he tries to switch his side from defence to attack quickly and directly.

Credit: 2+2

Some of his longer passes are top tier; whether it’s a switch ball to Andriy Yarmolenko or a clipped delivery over the top for a team-mate to chase, he’s become rather adept at lofting them into dangerous positions. He’s good in tight spaces but will occasionally attempt a longer pass from very deep and put his side under pressure should it miss the mark.

Finally, his set-piece threat is palpable; he has that knack of always being in the area the ball falls to, and as a result becomes a consistent factor from free-kicks and corners. He only has 11 goals to his name in his career so far, but the chaos his movement and aggression can cause is not recorded via a statistical medium.

One negative thing Dragovic has attracted is talk of a poor disciplinary record, but he’s a high-aggression player who doesn't do things by half-measures. He’ll go to ground and make the last-ditch recovery challenge in a heartbeat, occasionally leading to a card, but he’s not overly aggressive to a fault—an accusation you might just be able to level at current United player Rojo.

His yellow-card tally stands higher than most others of a similar age and position across the continent, but he’s also played plenty more games. According to Transfermarkt he’s played 323 matches despite being just 24 years of age. That’s a product of becoming a first-team regular aged 18 and enjoying long European runs with FC Basel.

Player	Appearances	Yellows	Second Yellows	Straight Reds
Aleksandar Dragovic	323	72	3	1
Inigo Martinez	169	45	1	2
Nicolas N'Koulou	274	46	0	1
Virgil van Dijk	204	28	1	3

Dragovic has been on the periphery of stardom for several seasons and has bade his time on the continent carefully. Any Premier League team looking to pull the trigger on a deal for him would be wise to do so before Euro 2016—his full set of skills will be on show to the world in a team starring David Alaba, and people will take note, so this month stands as the last chance.

Of course, for United to secure his signature, they’d have to convince him to forego the Champions League round of 16—which Dynamo Kiev qualified for, but the Red Devils did not—and in doing so, give up the chance to lock horns with Sergio Aguero in February.

For £16 million, Dragovic is great value given his attribute range, age and experience in the latter stages of European competitions. United could pair him as a sweeper to Smalling’s stopper and reap the benefits. He’s exactly the sort of player Van Gaal should be purchasing.

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