According to reports from Goal.com, and just about everybody else, Manchester United have all but officially confirmed the signing of Southampton star Morgan Schneiderlin.
It's a transfer that makes a lot of sense, even if the £24million price tag might seem a little steep for a non-Champions League player. Louis van Gaal labelled holding midfield a 'key role' before flying off for his summer break in Portugal and the 25 year-old has proved himself to be one of the Premier League's most formidable in that regard since the Saints' top flight ascension three years ago. In that time, he's amassed a rather incredible 274 tackles and 270 interceptions in 95 top flight outings, equating to 5.7 ball-winning actions per match, whilst averaging four goals per season.
Long term, he's the heir to Carrick's throne at the base of midfield; a physical footballer who brings control and composure to the areas he operates in. The France international lacks the United veteran's renowned passing range and vision, but Southampton were - rather tellingly - the only side to beat the Red Devils in Carrick's presence last season; a 1-0 win in which Schneiderlin claimed the Man of the Match award for his relentless screening of the back four.
He's Premier League proven and clearly ready for the next level. Yet, should he end up as United's only engine room addition this summer, a feeling of slight underwhelm will undoubtedly kick in. No question, Schneiderlin gives van Gaal options; a stand-in for Carrick, a potential partner in defensive midfield for the big games, an added aerial threat at set pieces; but he doesn't address the current dearth of top class quality at the epicentre of United's starting XI.
Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera are all solid midfielders with unique specialities, something Schnederlin firmly adds to. But Carrick is slowly declining with age, Herrera is promising but yet to prove it over and extended period and Fellaini, for all the courage, commitment and confidence shown last season, is still a little too simplistic in style for a club who intend to dominate the footballing world once again.
That may seem an unnecessarily pessimistic evaluation, but consider the midfield talent on show at some of United's title rivals. Cesc Fabregas and Nemanja Matic absolutely dominated as a pairing for Chelsea last season, the former a tiki-taka pro and the latter an imperious 6 foot 5 monolith, Yaya Toure, despite a slight downturn in form last year, still blends technique and physicality like few others in Europe with David Silva always in close tandem, and Arsenal have finally balanced out top class attacking quality with shape and structure via the three-man mix of Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Francis Coquelin.
United's middle men - including the hypothetical Schneiderlin - are comparable in quality to some of the aforementioned, yet superior to none. That truly world-class, dynamic, offensive edge is still missing. For a midfield trio who structure in a one-two with the front couplet supporting the lone striker as much as possible, that could prove very costly in van Gaal's search for silverware.
So what realistic options are out there on the market this summer? United have already been linked with Bastian Schweinsteiger, but at 29 years of age the German World Cup winner is slowly gravitating towards a more reserved game. English talents like Jordan Henderson, Jack Wilshere and Ross Barkley are either off limits or yet to truly justify their media hype. Juventus star Paul Pogba, despite his obvious talent, represents a huge gamble and seems rather nonplussed about returning to a club that played him just thrice in three years during his previous spell under Sir Alex Ferguson. Meanwhile, PSG remain determined to hold onto pass master Marco Verratti.
In my opinion, that leaves only two well-established, feasible options; Broussia Dortmund's Ilkay Gundogan and long-term target Arturo Vidal, who came close to joining the Red Devils last summer. Both energetic box-to-boxers with drive, physicality, technical flair and netting prowess, and both currently linked with moves away from their respective clubs.
But whether the Red Devils can afford either, during a summer in which they've already splashed out £25million on Memphis Depay, will cough up another £24million for Schneiderlin, must find a replacements for Real Madrid-bound David De Gea and ageing centre-forward Robin van Persie, as well as an experienced, world-class centre-half to address their current lack of, remains to be seen. The lingering concern is that, in terms of their midfield budget, Schneiderlin - a solid but by no means groundbreaking addition - might max United out.
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