admin In a summer where young and athletic midfielders are changing clubs, Man United are looking elsewhere.
What is striking about Ryan Graveberg is that he was born in the Netherlands and played for Ajax.
Here are more or less the basic criteria for a Manchester United signing: Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Mason Mount and Andre Onana have all played for the Netherlands. Rasmus Hojlund has a Dutch agent, Kees Vos, who also represents Erika ten Hag.
Suddenly Ten Hag’s success rate seems questionable. Martinez and Casemiro did it and Onana is an improvement over David de Gea.But Antonio, a rash purchase, is in decline, Malacia is injured and when he’s fine he’s just a substitute. Mount had two rocky beginnings. United always buy players for the manager, not the club.
Mount was sharp in the first 45 minutes at Tottenham. His interaction with Casemiro was more structured, with the Brazilian showing his gratitude at the break.
They also included match winner Pape Sarra and man of the match Yves Bissouma. Spurs created a break away opportunity in the first 60 seconds and overcame unnecessary pressure from United who left Casemiro as the sole guard.
Bissouma, bought by Spurs last year, was barely a feature under Antonio Conte when the general consensus was that Tottenham had made a smart move. Brighton won £25m and were replaced by Moises Caicedo. Caicedo left the club last week with almost £100m left over. Bissouma, Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister were turned into elite midfielders by Brighton.
United passed rivals Caicedo and negotiated a signing with him in January 2021 but overtook him this summer as he became the most expensive signing in British football.
Now there is a danger United will be behind the curve. Caicedo, Jude Bellingham, Declan Rice and Romeo Lavia have all secured transfers this summer and United will need to recruit a midfielder cut from the same cloth within the next 12 months.
The interest in Sofyan Amrabat, also born in the Netherlands and with Eredivisie experience, is convenient. He is out of contract next year but that is not a strong enough incentive. A United official screwed up his face during the pre-season tour when Amrabat’s name was mentioned. If United truly wanted Amrabat he would be in Manchester by now.
Amrabat’s agent was given an inch and has taken a mile. Liverpool’s failure to get Caicedo or Lavia prompted a flurry of speculation in Italy they would move for Amrabat. Liverpool quickly clarified they would not be.
Serie A clubs sometimes host a media row, which caused a bit of a stir during talks about Onana’s signing. United officials suspected Inter were as open with the Milan media as they were with United. But United have to ignore the noise.
They need a younger, more specialized alternative to Casemiro. He turns 32 in February and missed eight games last season through suspension.Casemiro did not start the first six games he was available for either.
Not exactly a midfielder, replacing Donny van de Beek should give United a chance to add Amrabat or an alternative. Their squad is so weak that two goalkeepers were left on the bench at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Van de Beek and Brandon Williams are not considered for selection as they both want to leave. United said its talks in June with representatives of Caicedo, an alleged United fan as a child, were serious.From the outside, trying to throw Chelsea off balance during the stalemate over Mount’s contract extension seemed like a clear tactic.
Caicedo and Rice have been pigeonholed as defensive midfielders but they could spread their wings at new clubs. Lavia was nurtured by Manchester City and wanted by Liverpool before he plumped for Chelsea.
There are not going to be as many desirable and athletic midfielders next year. Rice is 24, Caicedo is 21, Bellingham is 20 and Lavia only 19.
Further afield, opting for Mount over James Maddison, mature enough to already be assigned vice-captaincy status at Spurs, is another questionable call. Maddison has started influentially for Tottenham.
Amrabat excelled at the World Cup but United have already fallen into that trap with Wout Weghorst, almost a quarter of a century on from signing Jordi Cruyff and Karel Poborsky on the back of Euro 96.
The United football director John Murtough watched Morocco’s round-of-16 defeat of Spain the evening before he flew to Cadiz for United’s winter training camp. He was effusive about Morocco, though stressed players had a propensity to increase their performance level in a World Cup.
Murtough cited Hakim Ziyech, surplus to Chelsea. United vetoed a move for Ziyech as they had received unflattering feedback, never mind that Ten Hag coached Ziyech into a €40million asset.
Ziyech, of course, played in the Netherlands.
