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Apart from an elite striker, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag must be targeting a versatile midfielder after witnessing his club’s difficulties first-hand this season.
The issue with replacing Casemiro has been delved into many times and while a defensive midfielder is important, arguably a ball carrier is equally if not more important.
Without Christian Eriksen, the Red Devils have been short of a strong passer in the middle of the park, forcing the manager to play attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes in a more withdrawn role.
United need a versatile midfielder
The same problem presents itself when the Portuguese remains out of action. Donny van de Beek and loan signing Marcel Sabitzer have both failed to bridge the gap.
The need of the hour is to bring in a versatile presence in the middle of the park, someone who can ship in with goals and assists while controlling the tempo of play.
Links with Frenkie de Jong, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice, Alexis Mac Allister have refused to go away with new links with players like James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia also appearing.
Celta Vigo’s Gabriel Veiga has also been linked with the Red Devils for a while it is easy to see why the links have gained traction recently.
The Spaniard has nine goals and four assists in 30 appearances across all competitions and he has excelled both as a central midfielder and the attacking midfielder.
The La Liga side are resigned to losing him with AS (via Sport Witness) relaying that the player is being offered ‘dizzying’ figures by clubs in England.
Veiga has had a tremendous season
His release clause stands at €40million, a price that will not prove to be a problem for United if they choose to pursue the talented 20-year-old.
The report stated that United are one of the clubs who are ‘chasing’ the player who the outlet have earmarked as ‘the midfielder of the future’ with his stats surpassing that of the in-demand Jude Bellingham this season.
The Peoples Person have revealed in the past that Real Madrid remains the player’s preferred choice but they are “yet to be in contact about a potential move”.
It will be interesting to see which midfielder ultimately makes the move to Old Trafford in the summer. A lot will depend on the club’s transfer budget and how much funds are left over after their pursuit of a striker.
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