Manchester United midfielder not working – what’s missing? | Manchester United

The current sentiment is familiar to Erik ten Hag and Manchester United. Their season is just two games long and performance levels have been significantly below expectations as the players struggle with the manager’s tactical demands. Just as 12 months ago – after damaging defeats to Brentford and Brighton in a choppy start to Ten Hag’s reign – United find themselves under scrutiny.

They were lucky in their first league game against Wolves, giving up 23 shots but somehow coming away with a resounding victory. They were brighter early on at Tottenham, but in the second half they were overtaken by Ange Postecoglou’s energetic side. United’s dysfunctional midfielder is coming under the full brunt of criticism from fans and pundits, with questions over the £55m Mason Mount acquisition and former captain Gary Neville anticipating ‘big trouble’ if no additional signing in midfield is made. So while Ten Hag managed to find a near-perfect short-term solution with the addition of five-time Champions League winner Casemiro a year ago, the club are struggling to find the answers this time around. What are Ten Hag’s options?

A new signature

The manager’s desire to sign a defensive midfielder before the September 1 summer transfer deadline is well documented. Ten Hag are eyeing the signing of Sofyan Amrabat from Fiorentina but the club’s position is that they need to raise more funds from sales before they can fast-track the 26-year-old’s transfer. Fred was sold for £12.9m to Fenerbahce but West Ham’s £30m bid for Scott McTominay failed to meet United’s asking price, while Donny van de Beek remains for sale but without apparent suitor. All of this leaves Amrabat, who seems to want to move on, in limbo.

The club could well fight in the coming week. But would the Moroccan, who impressed during his country’s run to the World Cup semi-finals last year, prove a panacea for United’s midfield malaise? Against Wolves and Spurs, Casemiro was alarmingly exposed in front of all four defenders. So another No.6 as the kingpin of Fiorentina would seem rational. Amrabat, however, was initially targeted by United as a (albeit elite) replacement for Casemiro’s job, to allow the 31-year-old some breathing room amid a hectic fixture schedule. Given Ten Hag’s preference to persist with just one starting player and Amrabat having a roughly similar profile to Casemiro – strong, pressure-resistant, more comfortable sitting deep – he and United would have to adapt. to each other.

Another player linked with the club is Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch, who is quite versatile and could fill that problematic No.8 spot in Ten Hag’s squad, which Mount currently looks poorly placed in. But such a move remains unlikely and time is running out to explore other options.

A system change

United’s formation has rarely changed under Ten Hag. It was only on a few occasions last season, against higher-level opponents, that the coach changed from his usual 4-1-4-1 to a 4-2-3-1, with Fred being brought in alongside Casemiro against the likes of Manchester City, Barcelona and Liverpool. . The Dutchman wants United to press high from midfield, with Mount’s arrival further indicating the manager’s desire for two high-energy No8s, as Pep Guardiola popularized at Manchester City. It was hoped that Mount would be a more dynamic version of Christian Eriksen alongside Fernandes, but he was peripheral in his first two matches. The former Chelsea player has plenty of time to adapt, even though he’s out for the next two games with a ‘little complaint’.

A possible workaround, to add steel to United’s midfield while keeping Mount and Fernandes in the middle, could be a diamond shape. The two No.8s could play on either side of Casemiro, with a No.10 (potentially Eriksen) at the top edge and willing runners like Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford further out. That would bring at least one more body to the center of the park without bringing in the unappreciated McTominay or Van de Beek.

A young joker

An interesting option for United fans awaits in the wings in the form of Kobbie Mainoo. The Stockport-born academy product is just 18 and limited himself to just three senior appearances last season, but has impressed on United’s pre-season tour of the United States. It is almost certain that the midfielder, adept on the ball and compared to Paul Pogba and Jude Bellingham, would have been named in the matchday squads for United’s first two games had it not been for an ankle injury suffered in pre-season. He could be gone for another month.

Ten Hag said ‘I don’t want to raise too many expectations’ after Mainoo caught the eye in the 2-0 win over Arsenal in New Jersey a month ago, but it looks like the youngster is intended for a semi-regular role. in midfield on his return. He has the attributes to play just ahead of Casemiro, with Mount or Fernandes shifted to the right. Still, relying on an 18-year-old to fill the gap in the absence of a marquee signing would be a concern for some, especially those critical of the Glazers’ investment in Ten Hag’s first team.