MANCHESTER UNITED have endured their worst start to a season in six decades.
The Red Devils are currently eighth in the Premier League despite spending an additional £170million during the summer transfer window.
They are also at risk of dropping out of the Champions League at the group stages.
And to make matters worse, they crashed out of the Carabao Cup last week following a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle.
United boss Erik ten Hag has spent around £407m in total since taking the helm at Old Trafford last summer, but he is yet to build a squad that can challenge for the league title.
Arguably United's weakest area right now is in defence, with £55m man Lisandro Martinez set for a long spell on the sidelines with a foot injury.
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Both Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia have also been absent for the majority of the season so far, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka has just returned from a hamstring injury.
Ten Hag is now putting all his faith in the likes of Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof.
Raphael Varane, meanwhile, has been benched for the last three games for "tactical" reasons.
But Man Utd's defensive issues could have been dramatically reduced had they signed one of the Premier League's most promising centre-backs four years ago.
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In 2019 the Red Devils were linked with then-18-year-old Stoke star Nathan Collins.
However, a deal never came to fruition.
Collins went on to join Burnley in 2021, where he spent one season before moving to Wolves.
And in July he completed a club-record £23m transfer to Brentford, where he has since established himself as an important first team player.
The Ireland international scored the winning goal to complete Brentford's impressive comeback against West Ham on Saturday.
And he has since received heaps of praise from both fans and his manager, Thomas Frank.
Speaking after the match, Frank said: "There’s so much potential in Nathan.
"He’s just started his career, more or less. I know he’s played Premier League football before, but at 22 you are not even close to your highest level.
"He’s done well for us. Last week [the 2-0 win over Chelsea] was a good step in the right direction. I think today [there were] also a lot of important clearances on set pieces and then he finally scored. What a cross from Mathias Jensen and what a header."
Fans took to social media following the 3-2 win to laud the young defender, with one person writing: "Nathan Collins – what a signing."
Another added: "Nathan Collins was phenomenal today. MOTM."
A third fan wrote: "£23m for Nathan Collins looks more and more like a bargain with every game that goes by."
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While a fourth simply said: "Nathan Collins. F*****g mustard."
On top of his club career, Collins has made 17 senior appearances for the Republic of Ireland, scoring once.
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