Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville believes that the potential signing of Sofyan Amrabat for Manchester United would greatly help his old club with their midfield issues, following their 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday.
United were extremely lucky to come away with all three points and were exposed a number of times in the middle of the park in the clash. Ten Hag's side lost the ball 81 times in the fixture and had to rely on new signing Andre Onana for help.
The issues at the club are clear, and it seems that another midfielder will be brought in to help United's soft midfield underbelly.
Neville, who was speaking on Monday Night Football, believes that the player is Fiorentina's Sofyan Amrabat.
"One thing he's not going to do is go back to the Fred and McTominay style of midfield because they can't play the ball properly," the Mancunian began on Sky Sports. "He wants everybody on that pitch to be able to play the ball his way.
"What I will say is Amrabat could come in and play alongside Casemiro, perhaps give him some help. Look, he got absolutely torn to shreds tonight, Casemiro. Manchester United's midfield was non-existent; they got ripped apart by Wolves."
Gary Neville: "They are trying, or were trying to sign, Sofyan Amrabat to line up alongside Casemiro. They want to buy him for a specific reason. Erik ten Hag is not going to go back to players like Fred and McTominay who are not technically good enough." [sky] #mufc
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) August 15, 2023
Last year, Fred and Scott McTominay were played to help plug holes in midfield. Neville believes that Ten Hag would not go back to using the pair despite the glaring issues in the middle of the park. With Fred's departure and McTominay's lack of game time, it seems unlikely that will happen.
"Last season when they got emptied in midfield, they moved Fernandes forward and ended up putting Fred or McTominay in alongside Casemiro to be more solid. He wants to get away from that, and that's why he has signed Mason Mount. But I think in certain games he will be forced to bring another midfielder in to play alongside Casemiro to handle the ball."
Ten Hag also admitted after the game that United had to be better with the ball. He backed his side to improve on their lackluster performance.
"We gave away too many easy giveaways," Ten Hag bemoaned post-match. "That was not good. But you have to get into the season, and we will improve on that fact. When you see giveaways, then you give them the opportunity to counter, and then you have to follow [them].
"But I think we matched the runs and we dealt with it. The clean sheet tells [you] everything, and we, again, have been here at Old Trafford and we have a clean sheet, which is good. Now we have to be better on the ball."
United play Tottenham Hotspur at 5:30pm on Saturday.
