So it has been revealed that Michael Carrick will be injured for the foreseeable future. With him gone from the team Manchester United’s midfield looks very thin.
Which is strange considering they have spent more on the midfield in the last few months than they had in the previous six years.
That’s because Manchester United bought Marouane Fellaini from Everton for £27.5M on the last day of the transfer window.
We were concerned about the purchase before it happened and he has been underwhelming in his Old Trafford career to date. We aren’t going to completely write him off just yet. But he will really needs to raise the bar if he is going to prove his value to this Manchester United team and squad.
So far he has lacked technique and the football intelligence required to be a top Manchester United midfielder. He hasn’t imposed himself on games in the way that the manager would have liked and he has given the ball away far too often for an elite player.
But the injury to Carrick gives Fellaini a chance to step out of the shadows and show what he’s all about. When you think about the Belgian you don’t think about amazing technique or fleet feet. We always knew that he wasn’t going to be the next Iniesta.
What you do expect is a very charismatic player who can have a big impact on football matches. A box to box type who can add value to the defence, midfield and attack. Someone who can offer a goal threat and stem the flow of them at the other end – very much like the performance that Phil Jones gave in the first half against Arsenal.
But, at the moment, he’s not playing with any freedom. He looks as if the big transfer fee has got the better of him. He’s so scared to make a mistake that he’s not properly expressing himself.
If we controlled the purse strings at Manchester United we would never have bought him in the first place. But perhaps David Moyes still thinks that he’s got a top player there. What he needs to do now is nurture Fellaini and bring out his best attributes.
Carrick’s injury could be a blessing for the new Manchester United player but Fellaini needs to kick on quickly because he still looks like very poor value for money right now.
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