The left-back United never bought is costing them

Gary Neville saw this coming in August. "If they could get a centre-back and a full-back before the window closes, that will stop problems that we know we're going to see," he told Sky Sports two days before deadline day.

United didn't. Six weeks later, we're seeing the problems.

How we got here

Sky reported at the time that Luke Shaw was United's only senior left-back, with Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot able to cover and Carlos Baleba an option in an emergency. Young Harry Amass was expected to leave, most likely on loan.

The club's line, per Sky, was that they were still looking at left-backs "with a view to the future", and that their finances might make a signing next year the more sensible move.

Instead the money went on midfield. According to the Guardian, director of football Jason Wilcox oversaw £155m on Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Baleba. The Guardian says Wilcox did look for a left-back, with Newcastle's Lewis Hall the prime target, and that recruiting three midfielders and nobody else has puzzled people inside the squad.

Where it bites now

Shaw picked up an issue against Spurs and missed the trip to Madrid. "They've not travelled, both picked up issues in the game at the weekend so they're out," Carrick said of Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo on Monday.

Patrick Dorgu, who can play on that side, cut short his international duty, per BBC Sport, and Mazraoui came back early too.

So for Leeds away, Carrick's options at left-back run from a 31-year-old who's just been injured to a makeshift fix. Elland Road is the last place you want to be improvising.

What happens next

This is the speculative part, so treat it as such. Sky's reporting from late August pointed to United investing at left-back in "one of the next two transfer windows". That means January at the earliest. Nothing we've read from a Tier 1 outlet since names a January target or a fee, and we won't make one up.

Hall's name will come up again because the Guardian says he was the prime target last time. Whether Newcastle would sell mid-season is another question entirely.

Our verdict

Signing three midfielders and no left-back when your only senior left-back has a long injury history was a gamble. It's not paying off.

If Wilcox wants to answer Martínez properly, he can do it in January. A specialist left-back should be the first signing, not the fourth.