Harry Maguire’s future has been secured at Manchester United, although there is still plenty to organize for the INEOS manager at Old Trafford, ahead of another seismic summer for the club.
Most important, no doubt, will be deciding on the next permanent manager in the dugout, with interim boss Michael Carrick making his career move unscathed after leading his side to third place in the Premier League as things stand.
A settlement in Carrick, or a potential successor, could help United pursue potential summer targets, although even then, that search is ramping up regardless, if recent reports are to be believed.
|
Man Utd midfielders – 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
The player |
Games |
Terms (Help) |
|
Fernandes |
30 |
8 (17) |
|
Casemiro |
30 |
7 (2) |
|
Mainoo |
24 |
0 (3) |
|
Ugarte |
23 |
0 (0) |
|
The mountain |
20 |
3 (1) |
|
J. Fletcher |
3 |
0 (0) |
|
T. Fletcher |
1 |
0 (0) |
The priority, as many in the game know, is the signing of at least one new midfielder ahead of next season, with work to be done this week by all accounts.
Manchester United are in fresh talks to sign the £100m target
With an extended World Cup just around the corner, it is vital that the Red Devils do their business early, rather than risk a repeat of the typical end-of-window chaos that plagued last summer.
There is no excuse for the saga that has dragged on over the summer, with the confirmation of Casemiro’s exit at the end of the season making it clear where the club must strengthen, amid reports that fellow South American Manuel Ugarte is set to leave at the end of the campaign.
Given the lack of depth in that department, there is a sense that United need both a ‘number six’ and a ‘number eight’. Well, why not protect someone who can do both?
According to Roundtable, INEOS have decided that Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest is their ‘top target’, with work underway to beat rivals Manchester City to the Englishman’s signature.
The report suggests that City are the frontrunners in the race as things stand, although United will hold ‘fresh talks’ this week through intermediaries.
INEOS are in talks to sign more English talent than Anderson from Man Utd
Manchester United are eyeing another English talent and Elliot Anderson.
The Red Devils are said to be continuing to explore a £100m deal for the talent, although the club hope to have ‘clarity’ on the 23-year-old’s future before he heads to the United States and England.
Why Anderson could match Keane & Scholes at Man Utd
It feels like years since United had a central midfield at Old Trafford, even Sir Alex Ferguson’s great side of the 2006-2009 season saw real change in that department, be it Carrick, Anderson, Darren Fletcher, Owen Hargreaves or Paul Scholes.
Since the days of Scholes and the great Roy Keane there has been a truly outstanding duo, established in the middle of the park, a couple – despite the absence. that night at the Camp Nou – proving he is vital to United’s treble success, and much more.
With Scholes’ beautiful hair, and Keane’s Forest link, it’s easy to draw comparisons between Anderson and those two greats, although there’s more to the story than that.
Indeed, in the view of TalkSPORT’s Max Scott, the young Geordie is “a bit of Roy Keane, Paul Scholes and Zinedine Zidane all rolled into one”, high praise indeed for a player who has had to rebuild after being sold by Newcastle United in 2024.
That exit from St James’ Park has come back to bite the Magpies ever since, however, with Anderson – as Scott says – having all the necessary attributes to make him the perfect modern, or old-school, midfielder.
At a time when players, especially those in the centre, are pigeonholed into defined roles, the man from Newcastle seems to be able to do it all, as this season has once again shown.
Part of the reason he holds his own alongside Declan Rice at world level is his off-field work, boasting a Keane-esque bite to his game and physicality, averaging four tackles and four blocks per game this season in the Premier League, as well as finding the ball 8.4 times per game.
In comparison, his England counterpart Rice, arguably the benchmark when it comes to top-flight midfielders, averages just 2.9 and 5.1 in those same two metrics, respectively.
Like Keane too, but perhaps more like Scholes, Anderson boasts a genuine determination to play the ball forward at every opportunity, averaging 1.5 key passes per game, while losing possession 18 times on average as a sign of that determination to create.
Still only 23 years old, such comparisons may not be helpful in waiting to warm up, but considering the magnitude of the reported asking price, the cat is already out of the bag in that sense.
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