Manchester United are ready to go head to head with Inter Milan in an attempt to sign Bayern Munich’s Thomas Muller, says BILD Sport’s Christian Falk.
The report from Germany claims that United wanted to sign the attacking midfielder back in 2014 when Louis van Gaal was in charge. A move did not work out back then, but the Red Devils are ready to pursue the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner once again.
They also claim (via Kicker) that Inter Milan have also been keeping an eye on the German and would be ready to launch a January move.
Earlier this month, BILD had also claimed that Muller has grown frustrated with life at the Allianz Arena and is keen on departing in search of more first-team football.
Is he not special anymore?
These reports come in the wake of Muller’s performance for the Bavarians against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. The 30-year-old notched up two assists in Piraeus to help his side pick up a crucial 3-2 win away from home (TransferMarkt).
However, the Germany international has seen first-team football become limited recently. He has made only three starts in the Bundesliga for Niko Kovac’s side. Indeed, following Philippe Coutinho’s arrival after joining the club on loan from Barcelona, the midfielder has made just two starts in the league.
Despite his restricted match-time, he has a total of six assists and one goal to his name across all competitions.
Last season, Muller made 45 appearances in all competition, in which he scored nine goals and provided his team-mates with a further 16 assists (TransferMarkt).
TIF Tactics:
United’s pursuit of players like Paulo Dybala, James Maddison and Bruno Fernandes is a clear indication of their need for an attacking midfielder. Muller is someone who can satisfy their need.
WhoScored’s figures show that Muller played as many as 1.9 key passes per game last season. Jesse Lingard, who was United’s first-choice attacking midfielder last season, recorded only 0.6 key passes per game. The German also completed more dribbles per game than the current Red Devils man (0.7) as compared to the England international’s tally of 0.5.
The German also took 2 shots per game, which is significantly more than the Manchester United man, who only had 1.2 shots per game.
While Muller could be considered better than what United have at the moment, he is 30 and is ageing. He is a highly-decorated individual, as he has won the World Cup, a Champions League and eight Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich (per TransferMarkt).
However, an argument could be made that Manchester United could have younger and better options available to get in order to help them finally banish the attacking midfield issues that currently plague Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.