Manchester United have reported selected Saul Niguez alongside James Maddison at the top of the list of potential recruits to strengthen and change the dynamic of the midfield at the club. Whether this is something that will happen during the January transfer remains to be seen but will seem more likely in the summer.
Reports surfaced this week which suggested that United would be seeking to sign six or seven players over the next two transfer windows, something which is needed at the club with the small squad of players Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has to select his teams, which have been lacklustre since the opening weekend of the Premier League season.
Solskjaer needs to make improvement in many areas of the squad with targeted signing at centre-back, left-back, the midfield and in attack, presumably a striker and a right-winger. Moussa Dembele of Lyon has already been linked with the club since last summer with suggestions of Solskjaer seeking a striker to replace Romelu Lukaku.
Niguez, a 24-year-old central midfielder has been linked with United in the past and despite signing a new contract recently, keeping him at the club until 2026, which supposedly has a £135 million release clause, United do not seem to be put off at this moment in time. It could suggest that Paul Pogba’s future at the club is limited, or United are spending big.
Leicester City midfielder Maddison, 22, is also on the list of requirements, who suits the targeting of Solskjaer, who signed Daniel James, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire in the summer, the three players in the squad who have performed the best this season, showing Solskjaer’s eye for the future and the fact the club is finally buying the right players.
United do need to get their recruitment right after now spending more than £800 million since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, also going through three different permanent managers; David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho. Solskjaer seems to have been given time and despite reports about pressure, it does not come from within the club.
Niguez has played 249 times for Atletico Madrid up to the end of last season, scoring 34 goals, providing a lot more that that in the matches he has played. At the La Liga club, the player has won one Copa del Rey, one Supercopa de España, two UEFA Europa League titles, one UEFA Super Cup and was a runner-up in the UEFA Champions League.
The 24-year-old has achieved a lot in the game already and would be a worth player to fortify the clubs midfield, whether or not Pogba remains at the club. Surely, a costly transfer fee would demonstrate the fact that United wanted to get back into the thick of things in the Premier League and beyond? I just hope that the club backs the manager.
It would have been so much easier to ensure the manager had the players he wanted in the summer, but Rome was not build in a day. Solskjaer needed to allow the youth players to come through and see what they had to offer. Most of them are not ready, which is what we knew and the experience they will gain this season will be good for them.
