Man United's revamped midfield could prove key to title challenge
LONDON -- A strong case can be made that Manchester United’s best player last season was Michael Carrick. Consider that in league matches in which Carrick played an hour or more last season, Manchester United picked up an average 2.44 points per game. Extrapolate that over a full 38-game season and you get 93 points, which would have won the league over Chelsea by five full points.
Of course, they did not: United finished with 70 points, so it is little wonder they have made it a priority to strengthen their central midfield this summer. No club can be so reliant on an injury-prone player who is now 34.
The signing of Bastian Schweinsteiger has captured most of the attention, but the other midfielder United have signed may turn out to be more significant. Morgan Schneiderlin was a commanding presence for Southampton, sitting in front of the back four and breaking up the opposition’s attacks.
Stats from whoscored.com show he made an average of 3.7 tackles and 2.6 interceptions per game last season and combined that with a pass accuracy of 89.3 percent. To put that in context, only Francis Coquelin and Mile Jedinak regained possession more often last season; Coquelin’s pass completion was only 85.8 percent and Jedinak’s just 66 percent.
Schweinsteiger, of course, has worked successfully with van Gaal before and, even though he is 31 -- and, according to Pep Guardiola, hasn’t been fully fit for three seasons -- he has helped Bayern to eight Bundesliga and one Champions League titles. He was also arguably the player of the game in the World Cup final last year when Germany won it all.
With Carrick, Ander Herrera and Daley Blind (although he has tended to be used as a defender at United), Louis van Gaal has significantly more options at the back of midfield than he had last season.
Preseason has suggested Van Gaal will opt for a 4-2-3-1 this season, the use of two players at the back of midfield offering a defensive shield for a back four that has at times looked rickety. Perhaps significantly, Carrick started all four games in the International Champions Cup, partnered in the first three by Schneiderlin and in the fourth by Schweinsteiger. (Schweinsteiger and Herrera came on at halftime in the first two matches.) There seems to have been a concerted plan to get the players used to one system.
In all four of those games (of which United won three before losing 2-0 to Paris St-Germain in Chicago), United began with new signing Memphis Depay as one of three players, along with Juan Mata and Ashley Young, operating behind Wayne Rooney, which gives a fairly clear indication of how van Gaal sees the front end of the team.
Angel Di Maria has been offloaded, while Marouane Fellaini, after making such an impact last season, looks likely to be a shock tactic from the bench rather than a regular starter.
But with Robin van Persie leaving to join Fenerbahce and Falcao’s loan expired, United look short of striking options -- although they are hardly alone in that regard this season. The only backups for Rooney, who spent most of last season operating behind a front man, are the 19-year-old James Wilson and Javier Hernandez, who spent last season on loan at Real Madrid.
Adnan Januzaj appears likely to be loaned out. A deal for Pedro still seems possible, but the Barcelona forward has tended to operate from a wide position cutting in-field rather than operating as an out-and-out center-forward.
If the line-ups from the International Champions Cup are anything to go by, Blind will start in central defense alongside Phil Jones. Van Gaal has said that Antonio Valencia remains his first-choice at right-back, but the arrival of Matteo Darmian at least provides an option on that flank. With Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo battling it out for the left-back slot, United have competition for places in all positions -- other than at center-forward.
The goalkeeping situation remains to be resolved, with David De Gea, probably United’s most important player last season, remaining at the club for now despite Real Madrid’s efforts to sign him.
Argentina keeper Sergio Romero, who played for Van Gaal at AZ Alkmaar, has been signed so there is at least cover in place should De Gea’s move to Real Madrid go ahead. It’s a sensible contingency, given Romero seems to have few qualms about sitting on the bench, having been a back-up both at Monaco and Sampdoria in recent seasons.
The question for United, really, is how quickly their new transfers settle. It may be that there have been too many changes to mount a serious tilt at the title this season, but if they do settle quickly, and if Van Gaal’s ideas have at last taken hold, then there’s no reason United can’t challenge.
One thing is clear: no other side in this league can match United’s wealth in midfield.
