13
Under the stewardship of Erik ten Hag, Manchester United are on course to surpass all the expectations laid upon them before the start of the season.
The Red Devils have the chance to end their silverware drought at the weekend when they take to the field at Wembley for the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle United.
To add to this, the 20-time English league champions are also in the title race and are still fighting in the FA Cup and the Europa League.
Lack of quality backup options has not helped ETH
While the players have really upped their game in the second half of the season, the lack of squad options has severely hampered Ten Hag on certain occasions.
It is clear to see that the manager is overachieving with the players at his disposal as he has no backup options in certain key areas, especially in midfield.
United are being linked with a move for Nabil Fekir #mufc https://t.co/G14oSHAwQs pic.twitter.com/hgxfSJ8yJC
— Man United News (@ManUtdMEN) February 21, 2023
The former Ajax boss only has Bruno Fernandes to cover the attacking midfield position and has had to play the Portuguese in virtually every game this season.
Due to Donny van de Beek‘s long-term injury and his uncertain future, Ten Hag has had no one else to cover and has even resorted to playing striker Wout Weghorst and winger Jadon Sancho there on certain occasions.
But that is not the long-term solution and the manager certainly has plans to bring in a reliable backup option for future seasons.
Fekir, the Bruno backup
According to Fichajes, Real Betis midfielder Nabil Fekir might be the player to come in next season to plug that hole.
“Manchester United wants to bring in an attacking midfielder who can rotate with names like Bruno Fernandes.
“Fekir is a profile that Erik Ten Hag has always liked a lot, who sees it as a proper name to start competing for the Premier League title,” the report added.
Interestingly, the Dutch boss has already seen Fekir in action first-hand when United played Betis in one of their friendlies mid-season and he even ended up scoring against the Reds.
The 29-year-old has six goals and three assists in 19 games across all competitions.
The La Liga club value the Frenchman at €30 million and United are not the only club in the race as the outlet have also mentioned Newcastle United and Leicester City as potential bidders.
