Manchester United are on the verge of signing Sofyan Amrabat , the 27-year-old Moroccan defensive midfielder, from Fiorentina for an amount of 20 Million GBP. Given the current scenario, the signing is one of the most crucial ones that the Red Devils are going to do this season....CONTINUE READING
Amrabat had a fantastic World Cup in 2022 and has been on the radar of several big clubs since then. However, the necessity of signing him is absolutely critical for Manchester United, as they are in desperate need for another holding midfielder to play alongside Casemiro.
Mason Mount and Christian Eriksen not doing enough defensively:
Much has already been said about the signing of Mount by United. He has not looked comfortable playing in the double pivot in United’s 4-2-3-1 formation, as it is not his natural position. Neither is it Eriksen’s, who is a bit too creative to play as a holding midfielder.
As a result, the pressure is too much on Casemiro at times and United have conceded four goals in the three matches they have played so far.
They snatched victory from the jaws from defeat against Nottingham Forest to avoid a second successive defeat somehow, but their performance was far from satisfactory.
In such a situation, Amrabat might provide United with some much-needed solidity in the middle third. He is physically quite strong, too, and should be able to adjust to the demands of Premier League quite easily.
However, defensive shortcomings are not the only reason for United’s desperate need to sign Amrabat. Their attacking needs should also be addressed by the Moroccan’s signing.
Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro taking up attacking positions too often:
Manchester United still have not availed the services of Rasmus Hojlund, their new No. 9, who is nursing an injury. Moreover, Marcus Rashford made his preferences clear by playing well as the left winger against Nottingham Forest.
An ineffective Anthony Martial started as the centre-forward, but had to be replaced by Jadon Sancho, who played as a false nine during his stay on the pitch. As a result, United often needed the presence of Fernandes and Casemiro in the opposition penalty box to finish their attacks.
Fernandes was brilliant against Nottingham and had a lot of creative influence _ as he so often does _ , but did not drop back too often.
In their loss against Tottenham Hotspur, too, Fernandes was often United’s most advanced player and Casemiro also ventured forward to try to score with his headers. All that is fine for increasing the potency of United’s attacks, but also leaves some gap in their own half.
Amrabat’s presence should be quite helpful to plug those holes, as Fernandes seems to be incapable of taking up enough defensive responsibility as per the demands of the team and Casemiro has been spending a considerable amount of time in the opposition half.
Hence, the notion that United need Amrabat’s services only to aid their defensive set-up is probably not correct. His signing should provide them with enough assurance at the back to attack in numbers without much inhibition.
At this moment, Erik ten Hag’s team cannot afford to depend only on their forwards to breach the opposition defence….READFULL
