Manchester United could be looking at another summer where the top priority is finding midfield reinforcements.

Sky Sports claims that Spanish midfielders Juan Mata and Ander Herrera could both be about to leave Old Trafford when the transfer window reopens. It’s claimed that FC Barcelona are looking at bringing in Mata, while Herrera is being heavily linked with a Bosman move to Ligue 1 champions PSG.

Speculation is also still rife regarding the future of French World Cup winning midfielder Paul Pogba. The player himself has done little to dampen that speculation as he recently came out in the media claiming that Real Madrid are a ‘dream club’ (Source – BBC Sport):

“Real Madrid is one of the biggest clubs in the world. I’ve always said it is a dream club for every player.”

So with all that being considered, it does seem likely that new Man United permanent boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will look at bringing in a midfielder or two to help the team fight for trophies next season.

British media outlet The Metro have recently reported that United are targeting Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul Niguez.

First off the Spanish international is a very versatile midfield star. As well as being able to play as a central midfielder, Saul can also play on the lefthand side and on the right. He can sit in as the holding midfielder and as a makeshift left-back if needed.

Niguez might be young at twenty-four years of age but he’s already a vastly experienced performer. He has won two Europa League titles and a Copa del Rey too. The middleman has also won fifteen caps for Spain and it looks as though he is going to be a key player in Luis Enrique’s set-up.

The Atletico star can be a tenacious ball winner, this can sometimes become enthusiastic and see the player get too much attention from the officials. He can also play as a box-to-box type and be a player that can dictate things from the middle. He is good at being the player that transitions the ball from deep to an attacking position with great effect.

Niguez is also developing good timing, when it comes to bursting forward. He probably doesn’t get the amount of goals he should but that could come in time, given his ability to pick the right times to get into the box and shoot from distance.

Man Utd need a versatile player that can read games.

In Nemanja Matic, they have a very disciplined defensive midfielder and in Pogba they’ve got a maverick who likes to venture forward and can’t always be relied upon to stick to a defensive position.

Saul could give Solskjaer the perfect option as the Spaniard can be disciplined when needed but he can also venture forward when called upon too. He would probably offer the Red Devils more balance in midfield when compared to either Mata or Herrera.

The Spanish star is also good in the air and can be efficient when he’s passing the ball. He has a pretty impressive engine that sees him cover every inch of grass during the ninety minutes.

Can Manchester United get the deal done? 

This could be a difficult question to answer.

I bet that the club are interested in the player, as I’ve already stated he has all the attributes needed to improve the United midfield.

But the stumbling block could come in the terms of the fee. The Metro state that the La Liga side will want the full £128m release clause if they are to let the player go and that’s a huge price, maybe just too rich for Man United’s current tastes especially if they don’t reach next season’s Champions League.

In 2017, Saul signed a nine year deal to stay at Atletico and he’s viewed as a cult hero by the Atleti support. That suggests that the Madrid club have the ball firmly in their court when it comes to a potential move involving Saul.

That being said, the player himself has recently moved agents (Via Marca) and that might be a sign that Niguez is eyeing up a move.

It could become an intriguing summer for the young Spanish international.

If Manchester United can get a deal done, then they’d be bringing in a supreme talent in Saul Niguez and a midfielder that would strengthen the Premier League giants no end, in my opinion.

Posted on April 6th, 2019 by scott
Filed under: Article