Manchester United are searching for a perfect partner for Harry Maguire and have identified RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano as a player who fits the bill. 

Maguire has weathered an early season storm to cement his status as United's best central defender. 

Debate over whether Victor Lindelof or Eric Bailly should be Maguire's long-term partner at the heart of the defensive unit continues to rumble on, but it appears United's chief decision makers are looking further afield. 

According to a recent report from the Daily Mirror, United are set to go head to head with Liverpool for the signature of Upamecano. 

The report claims that the Red Devils have been monitoring the 22-year-old's progress since he completed a £2m move to RB Salzburg in 2015, while they also came close to completing a deal for him in 2020 before a number of demands from his father forced them to withdraw. 

The Premier League leaders will face competition from Liverpool and Chelsea, though the former are not expected to have any money for reinforcements this month.

GIVEMESPORT's Jack Saville says...

Upamecano is a player with the ability to transform United's defence in a manner akin to the impact Ruben Dias and Virgil van Dijk have had on Manchester City and Liverpool respectively. 

Blessed with incredible athletic ability and an indomitable presence in one v one situations, it's only natural that one of Europe's rising stars has drawn parallels with his iconic compatriot Marcel Desailly, per Bundesliga.com.

"Desailly was nicknamed 'The Rock' for a reason. Upamecano shares the same build as France's 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 winner, and is equally the sort of player on whom a side can be built: solid, reliable, immovable."

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side are perched in top spot in the Premier League right now but, rather incredibly, they have conceded more goals than every other side in the top ten.

An anomalous 6-1 humbling at home to Tottenham Hotspur can go some way to explaining that unwanted statistic, but it does underline the club's need for increased solidity nonetheless. 

By bringing in a player of Upamecano's boundless potential and quality, United could lay the foundations for a formidable long-term partnership defensive partnership unseen since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic.