James Lawrence Allcott has been speaking on the Eleven YouTube channel about how Manchester United should look to sign Frenkie de Jong.
Man United have made a positive start to life under Ralf Rangnick, with the German manager yet to taste defeat in any competition but they’ve also not played for a considerable amount of time, as their last fixture came on 11th December.
Do Man United need a new midfielder?
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No!
It is still yet to be seen whether or not Rangnick is given free rein to sign the players he wishes or if the purse strings are tightened given he is just a temporary manager, but if he is allowed to bring in new recruits, he could look the centre of midfield given their slight lack of options, with Fred, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic and Donny van de Beek their available first-team players as it stands with Paul Pogba injured.
Someone who could be an option in January is Barcelona man Frenkie de Jong as he is young enough to recoup a decent amount of money for his current club, and given their financial restraints, coupled with the fact they are seemingly set to sign Ferran Torres, the midfielder could be available for a reasonable price.
Looking at realistic outgoings from Barcelona, Allcott urged Rangnick to move for De Jong in January.
He said: “It could be someone like Frenkie de Jong. I think he would be just a perfect fit for Ralf Rangnick and his system.”
TIF Thoughts on De Jong potentially moving to Man United…
De Jong, who is valued at £81 million (as per Transfermarkt), could almost be the perfect player for Man United as he’s very comfortable on the ball having racked up the sixth-most touches in the Barcelona side, while he is even better at progressing the ball forward having taken the ball into the opposition’s final third the most of anyone at the club with 34 (as per FBRef).
Therefore, in Rangnick’s system, which sees players instructed to win the ball back quickly and then get it forward as efficiently as possible, he could really thrive, as his ability and willingness to break from midfield is by far and away better than either McTominay or Fred, who have carried the ball into the opposing final third just 22 and six times respectively (FBRef).
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