Ten Hag will need to talk about Bruno!
UNITED could sign two midfielders this summer but neither are the defensive-minded player the squad has been crying out for.
The absence of a holding midfielder has held the side back in the last couple of seasons and the departure of Nemanja Matic looks to have left a sizeable gap.
United have been priced out of a move for Declan Rice, and Kalvin Phillips now looks more likely to head to City instead. The Reds have been linked with Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante, whose best days are beginning to look like they might be in the rear-view mirror.
But Erik ten Hag has put his former Ajax protege Frenkie de Jong at the top of his midfield wish-list. It’s a deal United may not have thought was possible a few months ago, but Barcelona are in need of the cash.
It’s entirely possible United will sign De Jong and also snap up free agent Christian Eriksen. They are two midfielders who love possession and while De Jong can sit deep, he is no destroyer in the mould of Rodri or Fabinho.
Maybe Ten Hag will look to fill that position next summer, but for now he wants control. United’s need for a defensive midfielder under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick was evident because they didn’t control games. Too often they gave possession away and were too easy to play through.
Ten Hag will introduce a structure that should make that less of an issue, even without an enforcer in there. He’s also keen to build a team that prizes the ball more than this United side has done recently.
De Jong will bring greater passing accuracy to the midfield and an ability to progress the ball forward, something they lacked when Fred and Scott McTominay both played.
The question will be who partners De Jong? He played alongside Lasse Schone in a three-man midfield for Ajax and without that natural defensive midfielder – a duo of De Jong and Fred might be the best partnership, mixing the Dutchman’s skill on the ball with the Brazilian’s work-rate.
A midfield of – potentially – De Jong, Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes would just be too cavalier and too easily unpicked.
It would essentially leave Donny van de Beek, Fernandes and Eriksen all competing for one role. All three could be the most attacking midfielder, perhaps in a more natural No. 8 role than the higher position Fernandes took up under Solskjaer.
The Portuguese was a transformative signing in January 2020 but he had a disappointing season last term and his high-risk game doesn’t fit with the philosophy of every coach.
He plays with a sense of adventure and daring in his game and he can be creative as a result, but he can also be poor in possession and twice last season gave away goals by hooking no-look passes over his shoulder from defensive throw-ins.
If De Jong is crucial to the rebuild of the midfield, and Fred is crucial to making it work without a defensive midfielder, then it might only leave one space free. The pursuit of Eriksen shows what Ten Hag wants from that role and Fernandes might need to adapt his game to fit into his plans.