Arguably, United's issues go much, much deeper than that, though even a multitude of problems can only be solved one at a time.
Liverpool play Man Utd in their next Premier League fixture
When domestic football resumes after the current international break, the Red Devils will be in 18th place on just eight points. Two places and one point off the bottom.
Andoni Iraola's Liverpool side are much better off in the sense that they begin Premier League duties again from fourth place, on 18 points.
By their fixture against each other on November 22, there will be only five and a half weeks left until the January transfer window opens and the opportunity for either North West giant to strengthen as needed arises.
As the hand of fate would seemingly decree, both teams could be going after the same player in Juventus' 26-year-old Andrea Cambiaso.
Cambiaso can play left or right side
With only Luke Shaw and Harry Amass as recognised left-backs at United, and Diogo Dalot as well as Noussair Mazraoui on the right, the need for United to bring in a player who would be a step up in class is obvious.
Fortunately, Cambiaso, whilst predominantly a left-footer, can also play just as well on the right side, offering some versatility to add to his all-round excellence.
Excellence that has seen him earn steady Flashscore ratings of between 6.2 and 6.7 in his most recent matches.
Liverpool could well ensure that Ronald Araujo becomes the regular right-back, with Conor Bradley in reserve; however, left-back Milos Kerkez - like Jeremie Frimpong on the right side - has hardly covered himself in glory since signing.
What does the Italian bring to the table?
Indeed, with Kostas Tsimikas' contract also running out next summer and the club not appearing to make any moves to extend it, there are genuine reasons to believe that the Reds could bring Cambiaso in as their first-choice left-back, with Kerkez as back-up.
Assuming the player is amenable to the overtures of either club, what would they be getting for their money?
Given that Cambiaso is a player who loves to get forward at every opportunity, it's no surprise he has the joint-most assists at Juventus since the start of the 2025/26 season (seven, with Weston McKennie).
With 55 games played in that time, he's also one of the most reliable members of the Bianconeri squad.
McKennie's 82 tackles in the same time frame are only one more than Cambiaso managed; however, the latter's winning of 54 for a 66.67% success rate, are better than his teammates' 48 successful tackles (58.54% success).
Of those other squad members who have excelled in terms of their defensive responsibilities, Manuel Locatelli (131 total tackles) and Pierre Kalulu (106) are the only two players who have attempted more.
Cambiaso's 242 ball recoveries make him one of only four Juve players to break the 200 mark for this metric, but whilst his 141 successful one-on-one duels from 287 attempted (49.13% success) isn't the best, it still places him in the pack.
If there's one area that he does need to improve upon, particularly if he wants to be considered a success in the English top flight, it's his success in terms of interceptions.
Bargain price
Just 26 in almost a season and a half doesn't lend itself to describing a battle-hardened warrior, which he'll absolutely need to be at either Liverpool or United.
A total of 74 chances created helps to redeem his failings elsewhere, given that it's the third-best squad return, and 2,173 passes attempted (1,918 successful, 88.27% completion) is one of the highest at Italy's 'Old Lady.'
One of only four players to attempt more than 100 crosses, Cambiaso's 24.64% success is only behind Kenan Yildiz's 25.74% - though the latter has attempted 37 fewer crosses.
Even a shot accuracy of 53.85% isn't bad when set against fellow teammates.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of any potential deal is the likely purchase price, given that Italian media are suggesting that somewhere around the €25m mark could be enough to tempt Juventus into doing business.
Watch this space.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high-profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
