Tag: Scott McTominay

3 defensive midfield options Manchester United should look to sign this month

3 defensive midfield options Manchester United should look to sign this month

It’s been evidently clear for a long period of time that Manchester United are in desperate need of investment and improvement at the base of their midfield if they are to match the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool.

The club have made slight improvements under German revolutionary and tactician Ralf Rangnick, but those those glaring issues still rear its ugly head, and its costing United a place in the Premier League top four.

In Rangnick’s 4-2-2-2, he’s had to use a combination of Fred, Scott McTominay, and Nemanja Matic as his midfield base, none of whom are ideal fits for what Rangnick requires in his engine room, although McTominay has impressed there in recent weeks.

Against Burnley, the pairing of Matic and McTominay worked well, with the Serbian acting as a deep-lying progressor of the ball and the Scotsman providing the dynamism and energy to push up the pitch and support attacking moves. At 33-years of age, Matic cannot be relied on long-term to be United’s main midfield anchor, while his lack of mobility could also pose issues against teams who offer more of an attacking threat.

While both Fred and McTominay both bring energy, tenacity and aggression to the midfield, neither are reliable ball distributors, players who can break lines, feeding the ball to teammates in much more dangerous areas like that of the two no.10s behind the two forwards. And as a result, United are unable to penetrate teams with the preciseness and ruthlessness as their rivals and control games the way Rangnick wants.

According to The Athletic, Ralf Rangnick has already identified the midfield area as a point of addressing, so might we finally see some investment from Manchester United in that area in January?

If so, Iet’s have a look at three potential options Rangnick could look at to address the problem and how might they fit in at Old Trafford.

Amadou Haidara, RB Leipzig

(Photo by Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Given the weaknesses in United’s existing options in midfield, their reported interest in RB Leipzig’s midfield dynamo Amadou Haidara makes perfect sense. However, this may be a difficult deal to pursue as Haidara will be on international duty for Mali at the African Cup of Nations. If United still go ahead with trying to acquire his services, he may not be available until late January, which could prove costly for United if they desperately want to address their glaring issue in midfield.

The 23-year-old midfielder still makes for smart and astute piece of business. The Malian credits Rangnick with pushing for his transfer from RB Salzburg to Leipzig in 2019, proving a key figure for the German during his time at the Red Bull Arena. Haidara is crucially the sort of all-round central midfield who has thrived in the system Rangnick is attempting to implement at Old Trafford.

During his three years at Leipzig, Haidara has wonderfully developed his craft and effectiveness in Leipzig’s high-intensity style, becoming the well-rounded midfielder who can adapt well to the specific roles he is given. Upon his arrival at Leipzig, the 23-year-old impressed as an energetic ball-winning midfielder primed in breaking up attacking play, counter-attacks (a problem United suffered against Newcastle during Christmas) as well as supporting the press, and progressing the ball through bulldozing running and fine passing.

His ball-carrying was initially the foremost way he could break opposition lines, which he still does with such impressive precision. The Malian has successfully completed 75% of his dribbles, performing 1.55 successful dribbles per 90 minutes so far this season. Haidara has also recorded 4.12 progressive carries and 1.24 carries into the final third highlighting his knack of breaking through opposition lines to progress his team up the pitch.

However, its his passing that has proving increasingly incisive, and a trait Rangnick will not be able to ignore. Haidara holds a short passing success rate of 88%, and his long passing 68% showing his incredible distribution of the ball. So far this season per 90, he averages 6.32 progressive passes placing him in the 92nd percentile of midfielders across Europe’s top-five leagues. Also, he averages 3.30 final third passes, and 1.44 passes into the penalty areas showing he is very adept at finding his more forward-thinking teammates in more dangerous areas of the pitch.

If he were to move to Old Trafford, he would of course be playing with either of Fred or McTominay in Rangnick’s 4-2-2-2. Given the caliber of offensive talent ahead of him, Haidara will be tasked in fulfiling more defensive duties. In possession, his technical quality and acumen and desire to progress the ball will be extremely pivotal for United’s patterns of play.

Almost a third of Haidara’s passes travel more toward the opposition goal, significantly more than both Fred and McTominay, in which he performs significantly more progressive passes (6.32) than the Brazilian (5.06) and the Scotsman (4.56) and also performs more passes into the opposition penalty area. Clearly, Haidara would add much more needed ball retention and progression to the United midfield.

However, Haidara’s defensive metrics are, while reasonably solid, not paticularly impressive. Though, much of that will be down to the inconsistent form of RB Leipzig this season, rather than his own struggles. He averages a quite impressive 6.70 successful pressures per 90, 10.2 in the middle third and 3.30 in the attacking third highlighting that he is very effective when playing a pressing game. Still, his tackles and interceptions are not particularly the highest (2.27) amongst the most dominant midfielders in the English top-flight but Haidara would still so much more elite dynamism, aggression and most of all ball progression that United so desperately need in their engine room.

Provided Rangnick earmarks his former player as a target in January, United are likely to swoop in and pay his £33m release clause to acquire his services from RB Leipzig. However, having already inherited an excess number of players, the German will be aware of shipping out players ahead of demanding new signings over the coming transfer window.

Boubacar Kamara, Olympic de Marseille

Amongst the many exciting talents waiting on a big move next summer, Boubacar Kamara is likely to attract many suitors over the coming transfer windows. The midfielder has undergone remarkable development, having come through the French club’s academy, and remains amongst the most coveted defensive-midfield prospects in Europe.

Despite only being 21, the midfielder has already amassed 107 Ligue 1 appearances, playing close to 8,000 minutes across five seasons in the French top-flight. A ball-winner in multiple forms – a presser, a dueler and interceptor – but he’s also as comfortable against the press as he is when pressing himself. The 21-year-old is typically Marseille’s deepest midfielder in possession of the ball, very comfortable in drawing opponents in through ball retention, then bypassing them through silky footwork, mazy runs or passing combinations with his teammates.

Largely deployed in a double-pivot under Jorge Sampaoli this season in a 4-2-3-1 formation, Kamara has excelled under the tutelage of the former Chilean head coach. In a system which allows for much freedom and rotation positionally, Kamara is the one player who’s position remains constant although he does hold the tactical intelligence to perform those free-roaming roles when required.

Sampaoli’s system strongly requires the full use of Kamara’s skill-set. He is extremely composed in possession, dictating the tempo at his own pace possessing the ability and understanding to know when the slow the game down, and when to speed it up. A skilled and well-timed passer of the ball, with a good first touch, but without the ball he’s a tenacious, aggressive and methodical ball-winner who is strong in the tackle.

At Marseille, Kamara is used as the pivot point, keeping the ball moving with short simple passes, creating angles for the centre-backs or central midfield players like his partner Matteo Guendouzi. Kamara’s role is incredibly integral to Sampaoli’s positional play as he’s always available for a pass acting as a short passing outlet allowing his side to transition into their attacking pattern of play.

Boubacar Kamara’s season heatmap

More importantly, if given the space, Kamara is so good at breaking opposition lines with decisive swift passes, but also progressing it over long distances with a lovely range and superb vision and scanning of his surroundings. Kamara holds a short passing success rate of 94.7% and a long passing rate of 73.8%, highlighting how pivotal he is to Marseille’s build-up play, whilst also averaging a stunning 5.93 passes into final third per90.

He’s just as good in his reading of the game, often the man to help out his defence when dealing with the threat of attacking moves, winning the ball with strong standing tackles, but also having the speed of thought to distribute to his teammates and start attacking moves. While he does often drop deep, he’s very adept in the mid-block situations engaging opposition receivers and intercepting them from behind.

During the past year, Kamara has been successful with 36.9% of his pressing which ranks him in the 97th percentile for central midfielders across Europe’s top-five leagues. A stat Rangnick will certainly be proud of. He also wins 2.04 tackles per 90, ranking in the 87th percentile of midfielders, also winning 46% of his challengers against dribblers ranking 91st percentile amongst midfielders in Europe’s top-five leagues. Despite standing at 5’10, he’s also a very good aerial ball-winner winning on average 1.4 aerial duels per 90 with a 61.7% win percentage ranking him in the top 13% of central midfielders across Europe.

With him in the team, United could potentially have another promising prospect on the books, capable of developing into a world-class footballer, thus, lessening their need to spend big money on future transfers for the position. United are in dire need of an adept ball-winner but also a player who is just as effective and as incisive with his ball-progression. Boubacar Kamara fits the bill.

Although the Frenchman remains likely to leave in the summer with his contract at Marseille expiring in June, United are reportedly hopeful of luring him to the club as early as January. Provided the Red Devils see an opening, given Rangnick’s preference for developing youngsters as opposed to seasoned players, Kamara could potentially prepone his plans of moving clubs this month.

Joining Manchester United now seems as attractive as ever, considering the amount of potential in the squad.

Aurelien Tchouameni, AS Monaco

Like his fellow French compatriot, Aurélien Tchouaméni is amongst the most highly coveted young central midfielders in Europe, let alone the French Ligue 1. The 21-year-old has enjoyed a remarkable season at AS Monaco under now former coach Niko Kovac, and is reportedly on the list of a lot of top clubs around Europe for his signature.

If Manchester United are indeed serious about addressing their serious issues in midfield then acquiring the services of Tchouaméni should be priority number 1. However, it will take big bucks to prize him away mid-season from Monaco who still remain in Europe’s second competition, the UEFA Europa League and still remain in the hunt for Champions League football next season.

But, the club are in a state of flux right now, and Manchester United should take advantage of the ongoing issues currently plaguing such a decorated club in France, after Niko Kovac’s surprise sacking.

The midfielder is earning such glittering praise in France right now, simply because of his expert performances at the base of Monaco’s midfield in the French top-flight. Not only has he garnered exceptional praise at club level, but in his native France colours too, aiding their Nations League success earlier this season.

Tchouaméni is superbly athletic, dynamic workhorse of a midfielder who combines his sharp turn of pace with a fine-tuned and unique anticipation and reading of the game.

As a result, he is perfectly capable of fulfilling a number of positions in the midfield making him one of the most complete performers in the French top-flight: no.8, no.6, or no.4, you name it. He is right at home in each of those positions dominating, harrassing his opponents but also providing Monaco’s frontmen with the perfect platform to attack without any real concern of what may occur behind them.

Tchouaméni is an absolute nightmare to play against. Just when attackers think they’ve broken clear of the Monaco midfield, he quickly and consummately arrives out of nowhere to snap at their heels and win back possession.

Not only does he win the ball back for Monaco with astonishing regularity, but he moves it along beautifully once he has, with an impressive range of passing allowing the midfield runners in front of him to dart into space in advanced areas knowing that possession, and therefore the space behind them, won’t be ceded.

Standing at just 6ft, 2in Tchouaméni may not at first viewing look the dominating and imposing figure that he cuts out to be, but the aura and confidence at which he performs in midfield means he is every player’s nightmare when coming up against him.

Astonishingly, Tchouaméni made more tackles than (133) than other player in Europe’s top-five leagues in 2021.

In fulfilling his role as a capable defensive midfielder, Tchouaméni performs it with such expert assuredness and brimming confidence. He is an exceptional tackler and reader of the game making him so appealing to clubs who are in dire need of the safety he brings, clubs like Manchester United.

So far this season, he ranks in the 99th percentile for midfielders in the top 5 European leagues with 3.97 tackles per 90 meaning he is in the best of the best company with the likes of Fabinho, Casemiro and N’Golo Kante combining his aggressive nature in defending and his awareness of attacking situations developing around him meaning he can time his challenges well in order to halt opponent’s attacks.

With a unique combination of size, strength, timing, and coordination, he is quite proficient at cleanly dispossessing his markers at an exceptional rate. He is a very athletic and mobile, imposing presence, who stands at 1.87 meters (6’2”), and has extremely long legs which help him with many defensive actions – like tackling. Furthermore, his long legs mean he has a big stride when covering long distances, covering all areas in front of his defence both on and off the ball.

He would be the perfect component for Rangnick’s high-intensity style not because of his assuredness in the tackle but his ability cover all areas of the midfield pivot in the 4-2-2-2 system. He is a naturally fast player with a great engine meaning that much of the work isn’t overwhelming for him. So far this season, he’s won 1.85 tackles per 90, and performed 3.33 interceptions. In fact, his tackles + interceptions average reads at 6.42 per 90. All of it makes for superb reading, he is very adept and efficient in his role.

Even though he shows excellent balance and agility on the ball, Tchouaméni isn’t much of a ball carrier, a progressive one in that fact – he attempts 4.88 progressive carries per game, though on the rare occasion where he attempts to carry the ball over and progress it over larger distances, he seems fairly uncomfortable able to dribble out of tight areas, or muscle his way out of opponent’s pressure, though working under better elite coaches means that will only improve vastly. He holds tremendous ball control, agility and technical qualities when on the ball meaning it is incredibly difficult to dispossess him.

In terms of pass progression, Tchouaméni also operates at such a high level. Once he receives a pass, the 21-year-old always knows where he play before he even receives it, or his body positioning when he receives means he is more than capable of progressing even when it seems difficult. As stated previously, he is excellent technically and his range of passing is amongst the best in Europe, let alone Ligue 1.

Tchouaméni completes 90.9% of his short passes and 77.1% of his long passes making him a superb outlet when progressing the ball to players in more advanced areas – a trait United could do well in acquiring in the near future. He is better than Fred (87% & 77%) and partly better than McTominay (89% & 81%) at progressing the ball, averaging 5.37 progressive passes per 90, and an 5.43 final third passes. Once he receives the ball, he is not afraid to attempt to find his attacking teammates in more dangerous areas or pockets of space.

With his blend of size, mobility, dynamism, defensive intelligence, and progressive passing that will surely improve, he would be an excellent addition for a number of top teams all over Europe including Manchester United, becoming the complete performer for the here and now and at just 21 years of age, he looks to be a player who could be one of the best defensive midfielders in world football within the next 5-10 years. 

A no-brainer addition to fully complement Ralf Rangnick’s style of football.

Defining campaign for Manchester United; so what does Solskjaer need to maintain a strong title push?

Defining campaign for Manchester United; so what does Solskjaer need to maintain a strong title push?

According to The Telegraph, Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has signalled his intention shift to a more forward-thinking and attack-minded approach for his team in the forthcoming season. A move which could disband the McTominay and Fred midfield pivot that has served the Norwegian well during his time as United boss.

Solskjaer has told those players who have returned to pre-season training that he is eager to implement a more adventurous 4-3-3 formation next term as he bids to end the club’s eight-year title drought.

Solskjaer favoured a double defensive midfield pivot of Fred and McTominay last season and invited criticism at times for being too cautious and defensive. Despite the success of such a setup, United fans will of course be expecting a change of formula next season, hence Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s reported shift in formation and mentality.

The Norwegian’s thinking of a more mobile, dynamic and energetic duo of ‘McFred’ could well have been influenced in part by United’s 6-1 hammering by Tottenham in early October, when a midfield trio of Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic were easily bypassed as Spurs ran riot at Old Trafford, and a desire to afford his central defenders more protection against pace.

However, Solskjaer and his staff are understood to have discussed playing two more forward-thinking midfielders ahead of a single defensive midfielder next season and have raised that possibility with the players this summer.

With the arrival of Jadon Sancho, and hopeful signing of Real Madrid centre-back Raphael Varane adds pedigree, and additions which are of high quality and perfectionists in their individual roles. For too long United have been made to fill round pegs in square holes, which has hampered their pursuit of the Premier League title, a trophy that has eluded them since 2013.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been excellent in fixing those issues, but there is indeed more work to be done on a squad that is progressively improving and is also steadily on its way to ideally fitting the Manchester United DNA.

It remains to be seen how adventurous Solskjaer proves to be but he is eager for United to play on the front foot more at home especially, with Old Trafford expected to welcome back capacity crowds next season.

To do that, United do of course need a quality, assured, dynamic and dominant defensive midfielder who is also very good on the ball – similar in the mould of Michael Carrick or Paul Scholes – and is able to progress the ball expertly too, whilst also perfectly fulfilling his screening and shielding duties in front of the back four.

The club have been linked with West Ham captain and England international Declan Rice, however, West Ham continually insist he is not for sale, even a potential swap deal for Jesse Lingard will not be entertained. United also retain an interest in Rennes’ exciting teenage wonderkid Eduardo Camavinga, though his preference is to remain in France, or play in Spain for Real Madrid.

Nemanja Matic, Fred and Scott McTominay have indeed served the club well, but its time for United to go out an address a serious need in that defensive midfield role. All three unfortunately don’t possess the ability or nous to fulfil such a role.

Whether Manchester United have the funds to sign a quality defensive midfielder is unclear, but there is no doubt Solskjaer realizes that in order for his team to progress further this coming season, they must acquire an elite one.

So which players could potentially fit the mould at Old Trafford?

Teun Koopmeiners, AZ Alkmaar

Unquestionably, one of the most exciting and talented young midfielders in Europe right now, Teun Koopmeiners has been one of the hot topic of transfer rumours over the past few months.

Linked with a whole host of top clubs, including Arsenal, Liverpool, AS Roma, Atalanta, Leeds United, Inter Milan, Everton and AS Monaco, the man who joined AZ Alkmaar at 11 appears destined to leave his beloved club. AZ are reportedly resigned to losing him this summer, even for a relatively low fee of around £20million which is pretty much a snip for a player of his stunning qualities.

Having gained so much experience in Europe and domestically over his 150 appearances, there’s no doubting he’s now ready to make the step up to one of the top five European leagues.

First and foremost, Koopmeiners is a leader, a talker and an impressive authoritative figure on the pitch for AZ, and those are the type of players Manchester United need, especially where they are in their evolution under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 23-year-ol will bring an assured and dominant presence in front of the back, giving Solskjaer a very very strong spine in his starting line-up. As well as his measured and sturdy characteristics on the pitch, its his qualities on the pitch that makes him the complete package.

Adaptable and familiar with a range of systems, the 23-year-old’s primarily deployed as a central midfielder, but is perfectly capable of dropping back to act as a central defender, where his quality on the ball helps massively during AZ Alkmaar’s build up play.

United require a player who can effortlessly progress the ball and break the lines of play, and Koopmeiners is amongst the best midfielders in Europe in doing just that.

Koopmeiners is a true metronome on the ball, controlling possession, dictating the tempo of games and providing his team with the rhythm they need to breach opposing defences. He also hit an impeccable 17 goals and 7 assists last season with 7 of them from the penalty spot owing to his admirable versatility, technical excellence and a cool head when needed.

So comfortable and composed in possession, his exceptional distribution ensures he’s proficient at dictating passing passages and breathing life into attacks. Such an expert at helping his team beat the press with his penetrative line breaking passing, this means he can remove multiple opponents with a single pass. Not only is he a superb passer of the ball and is hugely reliable off it too.

Combative in the tackle, and a really strong presence when standing up to attackers, averaging 2.7 tackles per game.

How Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes would love to play with such a player behind them.

Koopmeiners is a low-risk, low-fee acquisition and is a perfect candidate to fulfil that gaping hole in defensive midfield. He provides security, composure, assuredness and a self-belief that few players in his age bracket could match. He’ll be a very sensible addition for Manchester United, a no-brainer.

Aurelien Tchouameni, AS Monaco

Arguably Ligue 1’s breakout star of the 2020/21 campaign, Monaco’s French under-21 international Aurelien Tchouameni is on his way to worldwide acclaim. He’s been recently talked up by club teammate and Arsenal legend Cesc Fabregas, who said on Twitter that Tchouameni: “has the potential to become the complete midfielder.”

Indeed he is, Tchouameni is an unstoppable force both on and off the ball, and proved a key figure in Monaco’s tremendous first campaign under Niko Kovac where they finished third five points off new champions LOSC Lille.

Tchouameni ranked second in Ligue 1 last season for successful tackles (142), and ranked fourth for interceptions (64). Per 90 minutes, the French wonderkid registered an astonishing 6.06 tackles + interceptions highlighting his dominant and combative defensive contributions. He is an elegant but also a sturdy midfield destroyer, also averaging a tremendous 7.06 successful pressures per 90.

Manchester United need a destroyer, Fred and McTominay have succeeded as a pair performing that demanding role, but none of them can fulfil that role on their own. Tchouameni holds the ability, energy, defensive positioning, and understanding required for the role, despite his tender age of just 21. He would be incredibly much cheaper than main target Declan Rice and will provide Solskjaer with the reliable solid base needed in front of United’s back four.

Not only is he a imposing figure defensively, he’s also a fine progressor of the ball both in his dribbling and in his passing. Capable of breaking lines, to evade pressure and drive his team up the pitch. He averaged 4.06 progressive passes, 4.44 progressive carries, 1.38 carries into the final third and 4.53 final third passes. His key passes is relatively low in comparison to his counterparts (0.50) but that is not a weakness, but is a result of the position he takes up on the pitch, sitting deep and dictating play as well as breaking it up. He does however, contribute much in the attacking sense, recording two goals and 4 assists in Ligue 1 last season.

He would likely cost around £40 million and at the age of 21 he is a prospect worth pursuing, seeing as he’s also reportedly a target for Chelsea. Tchouameni is a future world star, and would represent a quality addition, especially if Manchester United don’t acquire his international teammate Eduardo Camavinga.

Ruben Neves, Wolverhampton Wanderers

Ruben Neves, has reportedly attracted interest from Arsenal over the past few weeks of the window, but now according to TalksSPORT, Manchester United have reportedly stolen a march on the Portuguese midfielder, with international teammate Bruno Fernandes pushing for the club to sign him this summer.

The Portuguese midfielder is Premier League proven, and sometimes doesn’t get the credit he deserves. A few United fans could well state their reservations over signing Neves, which doesn’t make sense. The midfielder is simply good enough to be playing for a top six Premier League club.

Ruben Neves has become a serial leader and a key figure since his move to Wolves in 2017 and he’d be a tremendous capture for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Superb long-raking passes, vision, technical qualities, good positional awareness, tactical understanding and a desire that so few midfielders can match.

Rather than signing a player with no Premier League experience, Neves will provide a ready-made Premier League quality acquisition and a reliable presence in the face of the demands of the English top-flight.

The 25-year-old ranked fifth across the Premier League for tackles won (66) in 2020/21 and also averaged a stunning 6.84 passes into the final third. He would be a welcome upgrade in central midfield for Solskjaer. A player capable of the unimaginative long-raking and eye of the needle passes as well as his scorching efforts from outside the box.

Ruben Neves is certainly ready for that next step in his impressive career.

Yves Bissouma, Brighton

Yves Bissouma has quickly transformed into one of the Premier League’s most destructive midfielders, and any of the top six clubs would do incredibly well in recruiting his services in the near future.

If Solskjaer wasn’t impressed by Bissouma’s performance against his side at Old Trafford earlier this year, then what did he take from that game in April? Yves Bissouma was absolutely tremendous despite Brighton’s close-run defeat, completing six interceptions and winning three tackles.

However, that performance is a reflection of his growth, maturity and dominance all throughout last season. Bissouma is unquestionably one of the best defensive midfielders in the English top-flight. The Malian international made the 2nd most tackles (114), won the 2nd most tackles (74), the seventh most interceptions (60) and committed the fourth most fouls (54) in the Premier League.

You don’t need to read into that too much to understand his important and decisive defensive contributions. He is simply outstanding. He is, like the other players on this list, so good on the ball as well as he is off it. Bissouma averaged 3.55 final third passes, 3.29 progressive passes, completing 88.7% of his distributions. Bissouma is also a unstoppable freight train when moving with the ball at his feet, evading opposition pressure and providing a much needed outlet for Brighton’s build-up play, averaging 4.54 progressive carries, whilst also recording 1.45 successful dribbles.

Bissouma has swiftly morphed into the complete midfield package in the Premier League, and its equally impressive considering how he started out in the English game. How Manchester United could do with his destructive presence in midfield. The 24-year-old looks primed for a big move and passing up on him could be a mistake.

Boubacar Kamara, Olympique de Marseille

The Red Devils’ search for a quality number six has been well documented, and Marseille’s talented 21-year-old defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara could provide the ideal solution to the McFred pivot problem. He betters both this season in terms of goal-creating actions (seven), press success rate (35%), progressive dribbles (128) and aerial duel win rate (63%). 

Of course, team style and its influence on player outputs must be accounted for, but given he is younger than both and currently statistically outperforming them, the potential long-term value in this signing is huge. It also is valuable that he clocked considerably more minutes than both, as player availability is key currently, and avoiding injuries/burnout in a congested season speaks volumes about the resilience of a player.

United’s problem this season just gone was certainly keeping goals out – Spurs (45) were the only of the super league clubs to conceded more than Solskjaer’s side (44), and they ranked in the bottom six Premier League sides for tackles and pressures in the midfield third, an area where Kamara thrives. StatsBomb data also has United as the third most dispossessed side in the league last season, so the Frenchman could offer some much needed security in-possession.

A superb ball-winner in multiple forms – a presser, dueler and interceptor – but also as comfortable against the press as he is when pressing himself. The 21-year-old is typically Marseille’s deepest midfielder in-possession, comfortable in drawing opponents in through ball retention, then bypassing them through silky footwork or combinations with teammates.

He’s certainly the most risky, outside bet on this list of potential solutions for Manchester United’s lack of a capable defensive midfielder, but he’s a player worth looking at to fill the void. He’d be very cost-effective too, considering his remarkable potential and room to become one of the best in Europe in his position.

Wimar Barrios, Zenit St Petersburg

Every top club in Europe needs a defensive midfielder who just loves to screen and protect, to do the dirty work, to be destructible. Manchester United have not possessed a player of that ilk since the legendary Paul Scholes or even Roy Keane.

It was the hallmark of Sir Alex Ferguson’s teams, to have that perfect balance between defence and attack, someone who can destroy in the middle of the park, and then allow his more forward thinking teammates to run amok in attack. What was it that Sir Alex famously said back then? “Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is indeed looking to address that lack in his squad for next season, with the pursuit of Raphael Varane, and a quality, elite defensive midfielder will do to, and that brings us to Zenit St Petersburg’s tremendous Columbian destroyer Wilmar Barrios. The 27-year-old is the archetypal midfield destroyer and more.

Barrios has arguably been Columbia’s most important player since his international debut in 2017 and has been a dominant and destructive presence in Zenit’s team, one which has triumphed in the Russian division for three seasons in a row. Much of that has been down to Barrios’ consistency, leadership, and complete performances in front of his back four. It’s a shame, his high levels of consistency has somewhat gone under the radar for too long, and its only right he is placed on this list as a man who could solve United’s deficiencies in the middle of the park.

Barrios is a player with such unerring, wiry strength, great recovery pace and a pure destroyer in midfield. He is indeed a modern day Roy Keane. According to Wyscout, Barrios averages an astonishing 13.4 successful defensive actions per90, whether its a tackle (2.3 per game), an interception (1.8 per game), a pressure or an aerial duel, also he only gets dribbled past 0.6 times per game meaning he is incredibly difficult to get past when attacking. He is a defensive machine.

He also wins 66% of his defensive duels, which is second amongst any defensive midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues. Barrios, as well as his defensive contributions, is also a good ball-progressor too either with his passing or his line-breaking runs evading pressure and operating in tight areas, he is unstoppable when performing these actions making him a perfect Premier League defensive midfielder.

At 27, he’s entering his prime years but also has such prestige experience and history in his career already, winning titles with Boca Juniors and Zenit St Petersburg throughout his impressive career. He’s the perfect candidate, at the perfect age to drive United forward once again.

Wilmar Barrios is a must-have.