So, the Mirror are reporting that it is going to finally happen. Leighton Baines will join Manchester United in January in a deal worth £16m, apparently, to reunite with his former Everton boss David Moyes and team-mate Marouane Fellaini. Although this is good news for Manchester United, I thought that I would take a closer look into the England left-back’s statistics and try and pick holes in his game to see if he is a suitable addition. So here goes.
The main drawback of the deal, for me, is the fact Baines is 29 years of age, which doesn’t exactly make him a spring chicken.
He has also made one defensive error this season which led to an attempt on goal, but apart from that, there are very few flaws in his game.
He’s a thoroughly impressive defender who in my eyes should be the starting England left-back. Last season Baines made 116 key passes, more than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo combined, and he also scored five goals.
A change in manager and a change in system has resulted in his effectiveness taking a slight hit this term, but he has still made 14 key passes, scored twice and completed 89% of his tackles during his 11 games this term.
Baines would be the perfect replacement for Evra for me, but his age may be a little bit of a hindrance to his effectiveness at Old Trafford.
