Mats Hummels

The Dortmund centre-back is the type of player who I think United should be building their backline around. He is comfortable on the ball, strong in the air and is more than confident in taking the ball down, opening up and travelling up the pitch with the ball at his feet.

His awareness is something that you'd expect to find in a small central midfielder with a low centre of gravity, but his powerful frame sees him boss attackers regularly.

This season the Germany international has played 11 games in the Bundesliga and he has averaged nine defensive actions per outing. He has won 17 tackles, 52 headers and created nine chances for his team-mates, which is an impressive return for a centre-half.

With Nemanja Vidic looking as if he will be off and Rio Ferdinand's contract also expiring in the summer, United will need to plan their defensive options carefully, and I think this is the man who they should be going for. 

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