Why Miranchuk could offer Manchester United more creativity in the attack
According to Italian outlet TuttoMercatoWeb (h/t Daily Star), Lokomotiv Moscow playmaker Aleksey Miranchuk has been linked with a move to Manchester United.
Miranchuk, who can play on either wing, as a No.10 and also as a supporting striker, had caught the eye of the United chiefs due to his versatility.
The report suggests that they are readying a sum of around £35million for the Russian attacker to ward off interest from a host of Italian clubs like AC Milan, Juventus and Lazio.
The 24-year-old attacking midfielder has been a standout performer for his side this season, scoring 5 goals and providing 4 assists from a total of 16 league games.
The youngster also received some rave reviews when he scored two goals against Turin giants Juventus in Lokomotiv’s group stage encounters in the Champions League.
Miranchuk has a total tally of 9 goals and 4 assists from 21 appearances across all competitions this season, making him one of the key players in the Lokomotiv side.
Meanwhile, Manchester United are not in the best of positions after suffering a humiliating 2-0 loss to bottom-placed Watford last Sunday. The Red Devils are now eighth in the league table, seven points adrift of the top-four.
United’s performances in recent times have looked really unsatisfactory, with the side lacking creative play, especially in the middle.
Their dearth of good attacking midfielders has seen the Red Devils relying too much on star forward Marcus Rashford to do the honours of scoring the goals. The young Englishman is United’s top goalscorer in the league with 10 goals to his name.
Even though he has been a consistent performer so far, there are matches when things don’t go according to plan. The game against a lowly Watford was one such, and United’s lack of quality playmakers was out in the cold.
After a lot of shuffling and reshuffling in the No. 10 role, Solskjaer has opted to go with Jesse Lingard in recent games. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder has failed to create anything noteworthy despite being offered several chances.
Lingard has been a big failure so far, not even able to register a single goal or assist until now. Meanwhile, Pereira has not been any different and has scored and assisted only once in the league. The Red Devils have one more playmaker amongst them – Juan Mata.
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However, Solskjaer has opted to go with the youngsters than offering him a starting role. Being completely overlooked this season, the Spaniard has made just 10 appearances so far, of which 5 have come as a substitute.
Verdict
With United facing a dearth of creative players in their ranks, it has now become imperative for the club to make a new signing in order to climb up the ladder.
Miranchuk seems to be in good form and has already proven that he can perform at the highest level. Hence, the Red Devils should secure the signature of the in-form Miranchuk sooner than later.
