Manchester United have had a fairly successful season.

They’ve managed to prevent Manchester rivals Man City from taking the Premier League crown at the earliest opportunity and they’ve also managed to get into the Europa League final.

The biggest blip has been the owners and their greedy attempt to step away from meaningful competition and start a European Super League.

Yet if United are to step up and challenge for more major honours next season, then they’ll need to add to their squad in the summer.

I personally still believe Man United need a stronger partner in beside Scott McTominay in the central midfield position. I feel Fred is a good squad player but not a player who will take you to a title.

United could do with a player who can protect the backline.

With that in mind, here’s four midfielders who currently play in England’s top flight who could shore up Man Utd’s engine-room!

Declan Rice

The West Ham United midfielder certainly seems to have a lot of what Man United like in a potential new recruit.

Rice is young, has plenty of Premier League experience and is already an England international.

The player himself has stated his ambitions to play at the highest level:

“To have that Champions League music playing, that’s where I want to be,”

Declan Rice via The Mirror

The Hammers have enjoyed a wonderful season under David Moyes but it’s now looking unlikely that they’ll finish in the top four. That could give Man Utd an opportunity to make a bid, the Red Devils could also throw Jesse Lingard into the mix as he’s enjoyed a great loan spell at West Ham this year.

Declan is a very assured performer. He’s a ball winner and always keen to give the ball to those that can do the most damage.

In terms of stats, he has a very high passing success rate of over 87%. He has also averaged around two tackles per game and makes the same amount of interceptions (Stats from Whoscored).

The twenty two year old fits the bill of a Man United target and would be a player that Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer would relish having at his disposal.

Yves Bissouma

The Malian midfield man has been Brighton’s standout man this term.

The Seagulls’ star is a dynamic midfielder who seems to cover every blade of grass. He’s an intelligent competitor, can carry and keep the ball and is a player who looks to still have the ability to step up and become even better in the right environment.

The twenty four year old has an impressive passing success rate of 87.1% and makes 2.8 tackles per game too. He also gets in around 1.8 clearances. Most of Yves’ stats stand up to or better those of Man United’s Fred!

His current Brighton boss, Graham Potter, believes Bissouma can play at a higher r level:

‘The best Bissouma can play in the Champions League, absolutely. He’s got that quality, those attributes you need at that level. It’s about being consistent.’

Potter Via Daily Mail

I’m pretty sure The Seagulls already know that Yves Bissouma will be leaving the club in the near future.

For Manchester United his signing would represent a more dynamic and balanced midfield.

Wilfred Ndidi

Leicester City are still on course to finish within the Premier League’s top four and a big reason for that has been Wilfred Ndidi, who has been fantastic at being the club’s midfield marshall.

No player in England’s top division has be able to better Wilfred’s 3.5 tackles per game record. According to Whoscored, the Nigerian also leads the way when it comes to making successful interceptions.

Ndidi is also very good in the air and wins plenty of aerial battles. That’s always great if you’re protecting you’re backline. It’s a quality that gets overlooked but if you are winning headers and interceptions before it reaches the defence you’re protecting your defence and getting the ball to your attack in a quicker and efficient fashion.

Earlier this season Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers explained just why Ndidi is so valuable to his team:

“He covers the ground. In terms of counter-pressing, he’s so strong,”

“He can get up to the ball so fast. If a team breaks through our midfield line, he can normally get back in and recover.”

“Of course, on set pieces, he’s very dominant.”

Rodgers Via Goal.com

Wilfred Ndidi would certainly improve Man United in my opinion as he’s combative and has the experience of breaking up so many attacks within the Premier League!

Ruben Neves

Another consistently strong Premier League performer is Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves.

Neves possesses great vision and can hit quality long passes or excellent through balls for teammates. He’s the type of player that keeps the ball moving after winning it back in the first place.

The twenty-four year old has spent the last three years in England’s top flight. This has been his best campaign in terms of goals, scoring five, and he’s always managed to have a passing success rate that sits above 80%.

This season has also been the Portuguese internationalists best year when it comes to making successful tackles (around 2.4 per league fixture).

Ruben could develop a strong working relationship with compatriot Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford.

Neves is another player who has the respect of his gaffer:

“From that day Ruben has totally embraced the challenge we had and he will keep on doing that everyday of his life.”

Nuno Espirito Santo – Source: The Mirror

After four years at Wolverhampton Wanderers, could it be time for Ruben Neves to seek out a new challenge?

That might just open the door up to an approach by Manchester United.

Posted on May 10th, 2021 by scott
Filed under: Article