Being overwhelmed away at a struggling Brentford squad is much more alarming for Manchester United than their defeat at the Etihad—the Red Devils have given up 31 shots against Thomas Frank’s team.
The midfield was Erik ten Hag’s biggest problem on Saturday night, as Scott McTominay’s worrisome display underscored the need for additional support.
With Christian Eriksen and Casemiro, his former season’s midfield partner, both anticipated to go this summer, the Red Devils need to make plans to find a capable, long-term substitute for Kobbie Mainoo in the middle of the field.
Pоrtugal-based sоurces (via Recоrd) claim that Manchester United and Barcelоna are figҺting fоr the transfer оf Mоrten Hjulmand, a midfielder fоr Spоrting CP whо had a strоng debut seasоn in Lisbоn.
The source claims that in anticipation of a summer transfer, United and the top team in LaLiga have been closely monitoring the former Lecce star, albeit neither team has yet to submit an official bid.
This is in response to an earlier story from The Sun from January, which stated that Ten Hag and company were thinking of signing the 24-year-old by transferring Facundo Pellistri in the other direction. Instead, the Primeira Liga team was holding out to see if anyone would activate his £69 million release clause.
Journalist Dean Jones said of Hjulmand that he would be “playing alongside Mainoo for years to come.” He might be the defensive-minded player United needs at the foundation of the midfield, allowing the young Englishman to unleash his brilliance in a more advanced role.
Mainоо has the skills tо succeed in a mоre оffensive, bоx-tо-bоx midfield rоle, as seen by his maiden seniоr internatiоnal start against Belgium in midweek. This may help tо explain why fоrmer teammate Anthоny Elanga has likened him tо a certain Paul Pоgba in the past.
Writer Zach Lowy is interested in a “absolute monster” like Hjulmand because Mainoo, who is not the holding midfielder that many, including Sir Jim Ratcliffe, have said he is, needs a dominant force to compliment him.
Mainoo’s ideal partner might be a player who possesses the “physicality, positional awareness, and vision to play as a lone holding midfielder,” according to Lowy. The same source calls him a Red Devils “upgrade on Casemiro.”
Though contrasting the lesser-known Dane with a five-time Champions League winner may be a daring move, Hjulmand seems to be United’s more successful player right now.
This is demonstrated by the fact that, according to Sofascore, the Sporting ace has an 87% pass accuracy rate, has created four “big chances,” and has helped three goals and three assists this season in the league. He has also shown his defensive prowess by winning 54% of his duels and averaging 5.1 balls recovered per game.
In the meantime, the aged Brazilian Casemiro has only managed two assists and one goal in England’s premier league, with an 83% pass accuracy rate and just two “big chances” produced.
The 32-year-old struggles defensively, winning just 49% of his bouts and recovering an average of 4.8 balls per game, but having a higher tackle total (3.1 vs. 1.9).
With an average of 2.2 dribbles per game in 16 league games, compared to his younger counterpart’s 0.7 dribbles per game, Casemiro’s ease of circumvention in the midfield is the most notable difference.
That should be enough to convince you that something needs to happen this summer, and Hjulmand just might be the unanticipated “improvement” that United has been waiting for.