Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick is reportedly hoping to round off his midfield by signing one of his three preferred targets.
The Premier League giants lost the services of Casemiro, who signed for Inter Miami on a free transfer, as well as Manuel Ugarte, who suffered a horrific ACL injury during the World Cup.
Kobbie Mainoo was left as the only available central midfielder in the first team. However, he has now been joined by Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, who completed out-of-the-blue transfers from Chelsea and Aston Villa this week.
Michael Carrick tells Man United to buy one of three midfielders
Despite the arrivals of the Santos and Tielemans, Man Utd still need a fourth central midfielder to complete the department.
According to The Guardian journalist Jamie Jackson, Carrick is a big fan of Alex Scott, Eduardo Camavinga, and Manu Kone.
The first is an England international, who missed out on a spot in England’s final World Cup squad. The 22-year-old is coming off an eye-opening campaign at Bournemouth, and he’s been on Man Utd’s radar for quite some time now.
Like Scott, Camavinga wasn’t selected for the World Cup following a difficult campaign at Real Madrid. The 23-year-old is a versatile player who is occasionally fielded as a full-back, but many believe he could be the sacrificial lamb if Los Merengues are forced to sell one of their biggest assets to balance the books.
Finally, Kone is a Roma player who enjoyed a solid World Cup campaign with France. Rumours linking the 25-year-old with MUFC have been gaining steam over the past few days.
However, Jackson believes that the club is unlikely to sign any of these players, as they are all valued at around £80 million.
Scott, Camavinga, or Kone: Who should Man Utd pursue?
Despite what the source suggests, Man Utd should be able to afford spending £80 million on their third signing, as Santos and Tielemans only cost them £82 million, while previous sources mentioned that INEOS had allocated a £200 million budget for the midfield revamp, similar to last summer’s attacking overhaul.
But if United have the resources to buy one of Carrick’s preferred profiles, who would be the ideal target?
| Percentiles | Duel% | Poss won | Prog carries | Fwd passes | Fwd pass% | Key passes | Prog passes | Minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
A. Scott
|
66.9 | 78.2 | 71.0 | 34.5 | 18.8 | 35.2 | 29.2 | 3143 |
|
E. Camavinga
|
88.4 | 94.4 | 63.7 | 89.1 | 98.4 | 75.4 | 84.9 | 1681 |
|
M. Koné
|
57.6 | 60.7 | 72.9 | 86.6 | 95.6 | 55.5 | 61.6 | 2659 |
(Stats via DataMB)
Thanks to his Premier League experience, Scott’s settlement might be the easiest, but the Englishman lacks the top-level experience acquired by the two Frenchmen.
And while many would pick Camavinga over Kone, Didier Deschamps went for the opposite choice and was arguably proven right, with the Roma star producing stellar displays at the World Cup.
Moreover, Kone could be available for significantly less than the reported £80 million, and his ability to efficiently carry the ball forward is exactly what Man Utd need at the moment.
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