Even though Manchester United defence has been looking shaky at many points in this season, especially at the start of the season when adapting to Louis Van Gaal’s ‘wisdom’ United have only let in 37 goals this season. Only Chelsea with 32 goals, Southampton with 33 goals and Arsenal with 36 goals had a better defensive record than Manchester United. Manchester United have lost over 800 games of experience with Nemanja Vidic, Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand leaving the club the changeover was never going to be easy

Antonio Valencia had never had a bad season at Manchester United but has a makeshift right-back he has had his high and lows but he was always consistent of Louis Van Gaal’s plans. Valencia had made the effort and improved with his defensive responsibilities. He is looking the most composed when he playing with the back four, and as a senior member of the squad he now has to lead by example defensively even if his attacking playstyle isn’t what it used to be.

Tyler Blackett had been given a surprise debut in the first game of the season even though they lost 2-1 to Southampton 2-1. Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal extremely likes the defender even if he was on the bench for the majority of the season if he wasn’t playing. Tyler Blackett is extremely confident with the ball and his long range passing is an admirable attribute. He also has pace and strength and it’s not beyond him to become a future England International.

Chris Smalling is a first team centre back for Manchester united having helped them win many games against clubs like Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Despite getting a red card in the first meeting with Manchester City he more than proved him-self worthy of the job when in the second meeting he scored a goal helping Manchester united beat their arch rivals 4-2. He has shown countless times that he is strong, powerful and quick, these are all the attributes you need to be a top modern defender.

After Argentina lost vs Germany in the world cup manager Louis Van Gaal made a decision of resting Marcos Rojo and he didn’t play till middle of September when Manchester united beat QPR 4-0. Rojo was one of Louis Van

Gaal’s favourite this season, when he was fit he often played. The argentine, also took Rio Ferdinand’s number 5 and has an excellent start to his united career.

Luke Shaw Manchester united career hasn’t been the best because this season Shaw has gained many injuries making him the second choice for Louis van Gaal. Shaw found it difficult to fit into his new role at Manchester United because he is used to defending and not attacking but with his new role he had to attack as well deal with his defensive responsibilities. He has had a standout performance against Chelsea when he Manchester United lost 1-0, despite the loss, Luke Shaw showed Manchester United fans and the manager Louis van gaal why they paid 27 million for him.