MANCHESTER UNITED’S midfield tradition is as strong as their history of winning trophies, or signing new sponsors.
Sir Bobby Charlton, Bryan Robson, Roy Keane, Paul Scholes – all of them have lit up the centre of the park with their fancy footwork and get-forward fireworks.
Bruno Fernandes would bring something to Manchester United that they don’t currently haveCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But lately, United’s midfielders haven’t been quite so dominant, certainly not in and around the box.
And that’s exactly why they’re about to splash the cash on £50m Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon.
With Paul Pogba out injured pretty much all season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-choice midfield has been Fred, Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira.
Fernandes is being brought in to add a much-needed attacking threat to central areas.
The pacy Portugal international is playing in a much less competitive league than the Premier League.
But if he can somehow bring his numbers from Lisbon to the red of United, then he’ll be an instant hit.
Looking at the rate of goals Premier League central midfielders score, there have to be question marks about the output of Pereira.
He’s getting outscored by McTominay, one of United’s two midfield anchormen, even though he plays further forward than the Scotland man.
But it looks like Bruno would blow them both away.
The goal-scoring rate, chances created per 90 minutes and the number of free-kicks they win are three key measures of a midfield unit’s attacking output.
Against these measures, United’s midfield ranks seventh in the Premier League.
But if Ole puts Fernandes in ahead of Pereira and he brings what he’s been doing at Lisbon with him, then it’ll take United’s midfield attacking output up to second or Fer-d – and make it a lot more productive than it is now.
The risk is always that the new man will prove less effective than Pereira defensively.
Using his numbers from Sporting we can have some idea of how good he might be at closing the opposition down.
And the number of tackles, interceptions and fouls Fernandes makes every 90 minutes show how he’s no slouch.
Again, he doesn’t face quite the same standard of player in Portugal but Fernandes looks prepared to get stuck in as some of the toughest tacklers in the Premier League.
It’s been a long while, but Fernandes looks the kind of midfield all-rounder who can bring back memories of the good old midfields of United glory days.
While Fred has improved of late, he doesn’t provide enough creativityCredit: The Mega Agency
Andreas Pereira has failed to convince United fans he is the future of the midfieldCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
