Don’t forget forward or defenders: Man Utd must sign midfielders like Tielemans and Ndidi to fight for the title

Old Trafford’s outfit appear to have other summer transfer targets but their shortcomings in midfield have been brutally exposed by Leicester

Manchester United’s focus seems to be ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window on the front and back lines, but the 3-1 loss to Leicester City in last weekend’s FA Cup showed they need it. renovated in the middle of the park so urgently.

Interest in Erling Haaland, Jadon Sancho, and a plethora of supporters in the middle have been suggested as suggesting that Ed Woodward and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are prioritizing the three positions that United fans have become more weakness for a long time.

And yet when Paul Pogba was not present through February, it has become slow that their midfield options outside of France are not good enough to set up a title challenge next season.

Pogba is expected to leave either in the summer or the next day, and it would be wise to rely on a player who has not been on a hot streak since the mid-2018-19 season.

Leicester’s game was a final testament to the problem, not only because Fred was directly responsible for two of Foxes ‘goals but because Brendan Rodgers’ midfield pair showed Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans tell Solskjaer exactly what his team needs.

Leicester’s second goal captured the sharp difference between the teams ’midfields. Worth looking back.

The Tielemans lift the ball in a relatively harmless position just inside the United half, his head moving swiftly to find out what’s around him as he moves between the defensive lines of the United visits; that’s the first act you won’t see from Fred, Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek, or Scott McTominay.

He takes one touchdown to control the ball and, with Matic quickly to shut it down, he flicks around the corner for Kelechi Iheanacho and spins behind a United midfielder in one moving move, a line break that is typical for Leicester ‘s inning under Rodgers.

While getting the ball back from Iheanacho, the park opens for the Tielemans, who ghost past Fred with flat feet and shoot into the far corner.

Here, we see the hesitancy, positional indiscipline, and Solskjaer midfield disconnection. We also see the value of a box-to-box driving midfielder capable of creating – and scoring – out of nowhere.

Youri Tielemans Fred Leicester Manchester United GFX

A statistical comparison of Tielemans and Fred – United’s best box-to-box midfielder – reveals the difference between the two players.

According to WyScout, every 90 minutes Tielemans surpass Fred for through balls (1.92 vs. 0.87), dribbles (2.22 to 1.42), going to penalty area (2.55 to 1.34) and ‘smart packs’ (1.53 to 0.73), which is a measure of “a creative and impressive pass that attempts to break the opponents’ defensive lines to gain a major advantage in attack ”.

The Tielemans also beat Fred’s almost double figure for ‘deep finishes’ (0.93 to 0.5), a measure of targeted passes within 20 meters of the goal, and he has achieved six Premier League goals. . United’s five midfielders have only been eight between them, and Pogba got four of those.

Quickly, Solskjaer needs a midfielder like Tielemans more than most managers.

United are widely known for playing without a sensible attack structure, their game plans without the precise rhythms of the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, or Thomas Tuchel.

Solskjaer favors an unprepared approach. This explains why they rely on the loneliness of Bruno Fernandes, and why their games seem to move so often that players move steeply and for no apparent reason.

United like to create low-tempo games built on a solid foundation, before relying on the ‘times’ to win games, so they tend to make slow performances if people can’t individually motivate the game to life.

In other words, Tielemans need quick passes and quick efforts – like the one-two ahead of his second goal – at Old Trafford to prevent United football from congestion.

At the moment, things are too often clogged in the middle of the pitch as Fred or Matic look in all directions, slowing down the tempo. For those hoping Van de Beek is the solution, the Dutch international is better off offering a high-end fine touch up the pitch; he is more of a Dele Alli than a Tielemans.

United could also do it with a new defensive midfielder in the Ndidi mold, and not just because the Leicester international in Nigeria is a statistically obvious update on what they already have.

Wilfred Ndidi Paul Pogba Leicester Manchester United GFX

A destroyer like Ndidi is a crucial part of gaining control of property and, therefore, putting the opponent under constant pressure.

Again, the drift problem that seems to affect Solskjaer’s tactics would have been partially solved if they had more efficient propulsion and reconnaissance equipment, which could help sustain attacks. by breaking countermeasures and pushing the ball back.

This is exactly what happened at Liverpool when Fabinho joined the club.

Klopp’s side struggled to maintain their tempo or crush the other team back, which led to games even terrestrial and often dropping points – that is, until Fabinho joined the club and turn them into a non-stop machine.

Liverpool have fallen apart in 2020-21 without Fabinho in his normal post confirming the point.

It would be a mistake for United to target only star players in the defense and offensive lines in the summer.

For Solskjaer’s comprehensive stroke tactics system to work, and for United to create goal-scoring opportunities consistently throughout an entire campaign, they need to refresh in midfield.

Ndidi and Tielemans would be a perfect pair.

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