This summer Manchester United have midfielders on the most wanted list, but the kind of midfielder needed is a hotly debated point.
The Manchester United midfield puzzle has been impossible to solve over the past decade, despite millions being thrown at it.
Paul Pogba arrived with the world at his feet for £89m, Fred cost £52m and Casemiro most recently for £70m.
All of these signings were decent and at times great, but ultimately fell well short of the expectations that their price tags brought.
It says a lot about the problems that the position has had that 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo has left fans giddy with his performances which achieved what so many have failed.
Now having made his senior England bow, and locking down one of the two positions in Erik ten Hag‘s midfield – he’s proven Sir Jim Ratcliffe wrong.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s midfield call has been proven wrong by Kobbie Mainoo
Speaking a few weeks ago, Sir Jim grouped Mainoo in with Casemiro as a defensive midfielder, adding that he thought United needed more of a Paul Scholes kind of player.
But this statement has since been proven wrong in our opinion, with Mainoo looking incredible on the ball, and progressing the play in more of a number eight role.
Against Belgium in his full debut, Mainoo ran the show, leaving his opposition midfielders for dead on multiple occasions and showed just how good he could be as a number eight.
This just shows – for us – that Sir Jim has misprofiled Mainoo, although admittedly he can do both roles, he’s just far better with a more advanced role where he’s allowed to create and make things happen which is also where his long-term future is likely to be.
This role would see Mainoo deep alongside a partner in defence but in possession, he has the freedom to roam across the midfield lines.
With Mainoo filling that ‘Scholes’ role for United, a defensive midfielder to replace a likely outgoing Casemiro seems a good bet.
The perfect option is a player Mainoo also came up against this week.
Amadou Onana should be Manchester United’s top midfield target
Many fans caught a glimpse of what could be the midfield partnership we’ve all been waiting for on Tuesday night when Mainoo and Amadou Onana were battling.
The collective qualities of the two could give United a balanced midfield with few weaknesses, and Roy Keane has already handed Onana his seal of approval.
A player like Onana alongside and behind Mainoo could be the link that United fans have been waiting a decade for, with Onana providing the defensive security, physical presence and the ability to start phases of play.
Against England, he did this perfectly, as his stats according to FotMob show.
- 90 minutes played
- 32/34 passes completed (94%)
- 1 chance created
- 53 touches
- 4/4 accurate long balls
- 10 defensive actions
- 4 interceptions
- 2 clearances
- 7 duels won (100% of aerials)
From this, it’s easy to see that given the duty of sitting deep and effectively creating a back three in possession, Onana would be perfect, and allow Mainoo freedom where Casemiro currently does not with his legs going.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
