Haaland and a Scholes-type anchorman would give United a chance to fight City for the title
BAFFLING as Manchester United’s inconsistency may be, there are two solutions to cure it.
One would be to throw every penny, £150million if necessary, to land Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund – because if European football’s top scorer (right) ends up across town at Manchester City, we might as well hand the title to Pep Guardiola for the foreseeable future.
And the other missing piece in the jigsaw at Old Trafford is a deep-lying No.6 who can pick the lock and dictate the game, like Paul Scholes or Michael Carrick (together, right) once did, when opponents sit in and leave no space.
The contrast between United’s 2-0 win in the derby, breaking City’s 21-match winning streak, and the frustrating 1-1 draw with AC Milan in Europe on Thursday night was instructive.
Those two games showed why United, for all their improvement on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s watch as manager, are not yet ready to win the title.
At the Etihad, they were able to hit City on the break, at pace, and they executed Solskjaer’s game plan perfectly. But, too often, they were unable to break down Milan, and gave the ball away cheaply, when United were crying out for a No.6 to thread passes through the eye of a needle.
In big games this season, they have looked secure at the back. Clean sheets at the Etihad, Anfield, Stamford Bridge and the Emirates suggest they are defensively sound.
But breaking teams down has been a different story – not just the big guns but the likes of Crystal Palace have frustrated Solskjaer.
Perhaps Paul Pogba (right) is capable of fulfilling that No.6 role – even though United paid £40m for Donny van der Beek ( far right) last summer – but is he disciplined enough to sit deep and spray passes around like Scholes did?
Thiago did it for Bayern Munich, Kevin de Bruyne can do that job for City, Frenkie de Jong does it for Barcelona. United are like a Rolls-Royce missing one part – the steering wheel.
When teams sit deep, leaving no space for Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood or Anthony Martial to run in behind, they struggle to score.
Bruno Fernandes has been a revelation at No.10 but, when he drops deeper, he is less influential and doesn’t hurt opposition defences as much. A No.6 alongside Scott McTominay – whose energy and leadership have been a revelation
– is a top priority now for Solskjaer.
And if they can beat City or Liverpool to Haaland, who has scored an astonishing 31 goals in 29 games for Dortmund, it would give them the firepower to turn a semi-final team into winners.
Throw £150m at Haaland, bring in a Scholes-type anchorman, and United will be ready to win the title.