Manchester United are exploring deals to improve their squad during the summer transfer window, as they look to add to the signing of Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.
The Red Devils are reportedly confident that they will be able to complete a deal to sign Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.
In the 2024/25 season, the Cameroon international delivered 20 goals and seven assists in all competitions, which suggests that he could add a huge threat to Ruben Amorim’s side next term.
Whilst the signings of Cunha and Mbeumo, if the latter goes through, show that United are looking for Premier League proven performers to help them kick on, the Red Devils are also looking further afield.
Man Utd eyeing up LaLiga ace
As well as wanting to improve their options at the top end of the pitch, by signing players who can score and assist goals, the club would like to improve their midfield.
According to Caught Offside, Manchester United are one of a number of teams in the race to sign Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casado this summer.
The report claims that Amorim’s side are interested in a deal to bring the Spaniard over to England, but they have not made contact with the LaLiga champions yet.
It reveals, however, that their Premier League rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal, have spoken to Barcelona to enquire about a potential swoop for the 21-year-old talent.
Caught Offside adds that it will take a fee of around £43m to tempt the Spanish giants into cashing in on the midfielder, despite him having an £86m release clause.
Man Utd could find their next Carrick
If United can get a deal over the line for the Barcelona star this summer, Amorim could unearth his own version of Michael Carrick in the middle of the park.
The former Red Devils star, who recently managed Middlesbrough, was a metronome in midfield for the club during his playing days with his fantastic ability to dictate play with his quality on the ball.
From the 2009/10 season onwards (from when the data became available), the England international completed 88% of his attempted passes in 272 games before the end of his career.
In Casado, United could find a young midfielder with similar qualities to Carrick. However, at the age of 21, he is still very raw and needs time to develop and hit his stride at senior level.
He made 23 appearances for Barcelona in their LaLiga title-winning season last term, leading talent scout Jacek Kulig to hail his “incredible” form, and showcased the kind of qualities that you would associate with the former United midfielder.
|
24/25 LaLiga |
Marc Casado per 90 |
Percentile rank vs CMs |
|---|---|---|
|
Passes attempted |
76.37 |
Top 5% |
|
Pass accuracy |
89% |
Top 10% |
|
Progressive passes |
5.98 |
Top 18% |
|
Assists |
0.17 |
Top 22% |
|
Passes into the final third |
7.71 |
Top 6% |
|
Passes offside |
0.00 |
Top 4% |
|
Stats via FBref |
||
As you can see in the table above, he ranked highly among his positional peers in a host of possession-based metrics, with both his pass accuracy and progressive passing statistics pointing to his efficiency and effectiveness with the ball at his feet.
These statistics suggest that Casado could be moulded into a Carrick-esque figure for Amorim, as a deep-lying midfielder who can move the ball around and dictate games, whilst being progressive in doing so.
However, Casado only won 53% of his duels, including 28% of his aerial battles, and he may need to improve the physical side of his game to truly thrive in England.
This is why he may not be the finished article right away for Manchester United in the Premier League, but he does have the attributes to potentially develop into Amorim’s own Carrick in the future, or straight away if he can hit the ground running.
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