Manchester United’s midfield was overrun in their opening day defeat at the hands of Brighton. Fans have been calling out for the club to reinforce in the middle of the park.
The midfield partnership of Fred and Scott McTominay were lambasted for their display and there have been numerous calls to drop them for the match against Brentford on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag is aware of the need to strengthen with Frenkie de Jong earmarked as his primary target. After months of negotiations, today’s reports have stated that finally there is a chance of the deal happening.
Adrien Rabiot is also close to sealing a move to Old Trafford with a fee already agreed with Juventus while personal terms are close to being agreed.
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These two were not the only midfield operators under consideration of the Red Devils. According to Alfredo Pedulla (h/t GIFN), the Premier League giants had tried to negotiate a transfer for Leandro Paredes of Paris Saint-Germain last month.
Their bid was knocked back as the Argentine only had eyes for Juventus and was waiting for an offer from the Old Lady since May.
United’s midfield woes
The Bianconeri’s move for Paredes is dependent on Rabiot’s proposed transfer to United. The money the Frenchman’s sale generates will be used to buy the Argentina international.
Personal terms have already been agreed with Paredes and the move should be fairly straight forward once both teams zero in on a suitable price.
Interestingly, many supporters were asking why the Reds were not in for Paredes as they considered the PSG star to be much more suited to United’s requirements as he is more defensively aware compared to Rabiot.
The 20-time English champions need a deep-lying playmaker more than someone who can play further forward. United have already lost the likes of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.
Both Fred and McTominay are not exactly adept at playing as the deep-lying playmaker with both midfielders substituted early and reports had stated that Ten Hag is not pleased with the pair.
Christian Eriksen has the passing range and composure on the ball to play there but he lacks the defensive awareness and the pace to track back. De Jong has the perfect qualities to elevate United to the next level and there is hope the Dutch playmaker will soon arrive at Old Trafford.
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