Michael Carrick’s utility to this Manchester United side predominantly lies in his ability to get the ball forward with one simple pass and Borussia Monchengladbach’s Granit Xhaka is a similar kind of player.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of sideways action as well, evident enough through the Switzerland international ranking seventh throughout Europe’s five leading top flights for completed passes per match this season with a whopping 81.
But he also recorded the second-most accurate long passes of any midfielder in Europe and that almighty range would go a long way to replicating Carrick’s influence at the base of the engine room.
Furthermore, the 23-year-old is rapidly emerging as one of the most exciting talents in the Bundesliga and United would be wise to get their hands on him before somebody else does, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool all linked over the last few weeks.