In the last days of the summer transfer season, Manchester United desperately hunted for a new left-back, but their alternatives were limited.
In a perfect world, they wouldn’t have needed to sign one, but due to a late injury to Luke Shaw and the fact that Tyrell Malacia was already out, they were obliged to sign one. There was a need for the team to have someone natural in that position despite the fact that Diogo Dalot had experience playing in that position and Alvaro Fernandez, a youngster, had recently returned from a productive loan spell with Preston.
Marc Cucurella may have been the candidate, but Chelsea’s expensive loan requirements and strange choice to field him in the Carabao Cup put a stop to such ambitions. Instead, United moved back to the earlier plan that had Sergio Reguilon and Marcos Alonso both being considered as potential short-term solutions.
Expectations for a Tottenham exile who was not even United’s top pick for the position were undoubtedly low. However, the Spanish full-back has performed admirably in both of his first two matches for the team despite the fact that both finished in defeat and had seven goals allowed.
Reguilon shouldn’t be given too much credit at this point, but he does deserve some for his level of performance given what was initially anticipated of him when he arrived. He displayed vigour against Brighton at the weekend, and he can take pride in parts of his performance against Bayern, especially the way he kept Leroy Sane in check for the majority of the game.
Reguilon was not only effective down the left with his frequent overlaps, but he was fundamentally sound on defence as well. One instance from early in the game stands out when he tracked back to stop a sharp Bayern break. The fact that he is still able to shine in the midst of all the doom is particularly encouraging, and it would be intriguing to see what he could do to a confident United team that would maximise his apparent attacking performance.
The standard hasn’t been set particularly high for Reguilon to surpass most of his teammates, and given that he is just on loan this season and that might be terminated in January, he may even have more to play for. Even if that were the case, it would still be advantageous for United to have someone who was so obviously dedicated and eager to succeed on their side, even if he didn’t have a long-term position at the organisation.
When that moment comes, Ten Hag will need to make a cold-blooded decision without showing any emotion on whether Reguilon is actually valuable to have among his players, either as a Luke Shaw backup or even as an heir. During his time with Atletico Madrid last season, he only started two La Liga games, but when United travel to Burnley on Saturday night, he’ll probably start a third.
There is good cause to be interested in what else Reguilon has to offer, but it should be remembered that he has only made two appearances so far and needs to continue playing consistently if he wants to be considered for a long-term position. United may have finally discovered the left-back solution they were looking for, three years after originally considering a move for him but choosing to sign Alex Telles.