5 Defensive Midfielders Man Utd Should Sign...

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5 Defensive Midfielders Man Utd Should Sign. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United have struggled with depth in the centre of the pitch and especially in the defensive midfield role, when the likes of Scott McTominay & Nemanja Matić have suffered injuries.

First we will be going into the Championship and looking at Leeds’ midfielder, Kalvin Phillips. The 24 year old has been a key figure under Marcelo Bielsa. After 10 direct goal involvements from a more box to box role under the previous management in 17/18, Bielsa converted Phillips into his number six and the Yorkshire lad hasn’t looked back. Bielsa’s system centres around his enganche in the final third but in their build up, it’s all about the six and Phillips as he operates as the build up hub, ensuring he’s available to receive so Leeds can play out from the back.

Next up, probably the most popular shout right now - Thomas Partey. The Ghanian is enjoying his best season under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid after reportedly almost joining Arsenal last summer. Partey is the biggest name on this list but that shouldn’t come as a surprise. His performances in the Champions League this season have been extraordinary and if he can maintain this level of performance, he won’t be far away from the best defensive midfielders in Europe.

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We can’t make a transfer list for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man United without adding a youth prospect, with the way Man Utd have gone about their business in the past season or so. Eduardo Camavinga is the first prospect we’re looking at, After making his professional debut last season at just 16 years old, Camavinga has become an integral part of the Rennes side that sit 3rd in Ligue 1. The Frenchman looks to have the world at his feet. He’s fantastically talented, with the ability to play short line breaking passes or long diagonals, whilst having the technical ability to dribble through the centre of the pitch.
He plays in a double pivot for Rennes as the aggressor, the midfielder who makes the initial tackles to unsettle the opposition and he sticks to his task well.

We head to the Serie A for our next young midfielder, Sandro Tonali. He’s often been compared to Andrea Pirlo but Tonali himself has said he’s more of a blend of the regista and Genaro Gattuso and this definitely rings true. Tonali plays with the ease and calmness of Pirlo. His short passing can look effortless but it often breaks lines whilst you can often see him walking into space to receive or even not moving at all and waiting for space to open up around him. But this seems a ploy from the Italian. Tonali is very energetic and these slow movements are often followed by bursts as he gets an extra yard of space to maneuver. Where he can either use his technique to dribble into space or short passing keep the ball moving.

Our final shout is Konrad Laimer. The Austrian midfielder has gone under the radar as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe. The 22 year old has been a standout player under Julian Nagelsmann at Rb Leipzig in the Bundesliga. If it was up to me, the defensive midfielder I would be signing right now for Manchester United is Konrad Laimer. Laimer is the perfect modern day defensive midfielder - dribbling, tackling, aggressive ball winning deep lying playmaker and understands the requirements of a modern day DM.

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