Could the solution to Manchester United’s central midfield ‘problem’ already be at Old Trafford?

It is clear that what Manchester United need is a midfield terrier, a dynamic box-box midfielder who can get at and harass the opponents midfield. But rather than spending millions on an obvious talent like Real Madrid’s Lassana Diarra, maybe the solution lies much closer to home… Darren Fletcher

There is no questioning Darren Fletcher’s ability as a footballer. However, I can remember a time many years ago, when he was touted as the long term replacement for the much adored David Beckham, he was criticised from many angles; more so than Darron Gibson is today. ‘The boy can’t shoot, he can’t pass, what can he do?’

But what a difference a few years can make…

As Fletcher realised his true position as a centre midfielder, his profile has risen and he has since developed into one of Fergie’s big game players; the other being Ji-Sung Park. Not only is Fletcher a hard and tireless worker, which was always apparent, he has developed his overall game to such an extent that our number 24 can do it all; pass, shoot and tackle. Fletcher has contributed greatly to our continued success since the 2006/2007 campaign, and he has become our midfield enforcer and box-box player in a similar vein to Roy Keane and he has shown these attributes in a number of important recent European games, not least the 2009/2010 away leg to AC Milan.

Fletch took the initiative to set up Paul Scholes’ rather fortunate equaliser and then bypassed the Milan midfield in the second half to float the perfect ball to set up Wayne Rooney’s second and United’s third goal and the ultimate nail in Milan’s coffin. His late runs into opponent’s penalty areas have really become Fletcher’s trademark, and this is an invaluable quality to have in any player, and what makes Fletch stand out from our other central midfielders.

Is this not the type of midfielder united fans are craving Fergie to get the chequebook out and buy? A player to link the midfield and strikers together?

The midfielders United have been linked with recently are all of course of extremely high quality and are of the calibre to succeed at the Theatre of the Dreams; however they all come with strings attached. Luka Modric would be a great signing for the reds, an ideal replacement for Paul Scholes who can work in a two man central midfield. However, like Berbatov, United would need to break the bank to acquire the Croatians’ signature, and it also seems Chelsea is his preferred destination

Inter Milan’s Wesley Sneijder is another world class player who has been strongly linked to United for some time. His positioning, awareness, passing and shooting would make him a cult hero at Old Trafford; but again his transfer would cost well above £30 million, and Sneijder is injury prone, rarely completing 30 games a season. On top of that, Sneijder is most effective when playing with two defensive midfielders behind him, allowing him the freedom he enjoyed at the San Siro; and the Dutch maestro didn’t work well in a two man midfield pairing at the Bernabeau, so there is that issue to take into consideration.

Samir Nasri and Danielle De Rossi are two other top midfielders linked with moves to Old Trafford, but with Nasri attached with such a high fee for a player with one year left on his contract, and the likelihood of him coming to Old Trafford all but gone, and De Rossi, in my opinion not being any different or in fact better than Fletcher, maybe United can solve their midfield problem without spending big?

So perhaps getting Darren Fletcher fully fit and firing again, as well as putting this season’s illness behind him, is the solution to United’s midfield dilemma. Maybe leaving him behind in Manchester to rehabilitate instead of embarking on United’s summer tour will ensure that our midfield enforcer will be raring to go come august.

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