Manchester United Transfer Rumor: What Man Utd Need to Know About Kwadwo Asamoah

By (Featured Columnist) on May 20, 2012

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(Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)
(Clive Rose/Getty Images Europe)

Manchester United's €12 million bid for Udinese's Kwadwo Asamoah has been rejected, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Asamoah, a 23-year-old Ghanaian international, has left an impression in Serie A with his consistent performances for Udinese. 

Here's what Sir Alex Ferguson and Red Devil supporters need to know about Asamoah.

6. Kwadwo Asamoah's Playing Style

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Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Kwadwo Asamoah is just as dynamic as Ramires but more refined in possession. 

The Ghanaian midfielder completes 82.5 percent of his 50.9 passes per game. He has the capability to spray accurate long passes.

Asamoah's blend of physicality and finesse makes him a standout player. 

He's quicker than Kevin Strootman but isn't the finished product like Yann M'Vila. 

5. Kwadwo Asamoah's Ball Winning Ability

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Tullio M. Puglia/Getty Images

Kwadwo Asamoah is in peak condition which is why he has only been subbed off three times in Serie A. 

His seemingly limitless energy has allowed him to successfully play a box-to-box role for Udinese. 

How does his defensive statistics compare to Manchester United centre midfielders Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs? 

 

  Tackles Per Game Interceptions Per Game Fouls Per Game
Asamoah  2.6 1.2 1.1
Carrick 3 2.4 0.7
Scholes  2.3 1.4 1.3
Giggs 1.1 1.2 0.8

4. Kwadwo Asamoah and Tactics

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Clive Rose/Getty Images

This season, Francesco Guidolin mainly used a 3-5-2 with three central midfielders: Kwadwo Asamoah, Mauricio Isla and Giampiero Pinzi. 

Isla has been ordinary but keep in mind he still thinks like a wing-back. 

Pinzi is a ferocious tackler but he has Cheick Tioté-esq discipline. 

Of the three, Asamoah is the in-form midfielder. He is the one with the higher football IQ and he is less likely to make errors. 

So what is his role? Box-to-box midfielder. 

His finishing needs improving because 15.7 shots per goal is not good enough. Ideally, he needs to get it down to 4.9 shots per goal like Antonio Nocerino. 

During the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Goran Stevanović played Asamoah as the central attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1. He played more like a centre midfielder than an attacking midfielder.

He was lively and I named him in my team of the tournament

He would be a better fit in a 4-4-2 at Manchester United than Shinji Kagawa.

3. Underestimate Kwadwo Asamoah at Your Peril

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Mario Carlini / Iguana Press/Getty Images

When Kwadwo Asamoah first broke into the Udinese starting XI, he was playing alongside Gaetano D'Agostino and Gökhan Inler. 

Opposing teams didn't know who Asamoah was nor did they really care about stopping him. 

I also believe because he was a Ghanaian midfielder, opposing teams assumed he was technically and tactically limited. 

Why else was he afforded so much space? 

He scored two goals, one against Cagliari and another against Fiorentina, without anyone tracking his original run. 

Opposing teams dared him to pass not knowing he was comfortable in possession. He exploited this by routinely playing in Antonio Floro Flores, who provided 11 assists that season. 

2. Kwadwo Asamoah's Explosiveness

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Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images

Kwadwo Asamoah has neat ball control but he's no Mohammed Polo. 

Asamoah relies on explosiveness to get past opponents. 

Like Ramires with Chelsea, Asamoah is Udinese's one-man counter attack—he often creates something out of nothing. 

 

  Completed Dribbles Dribbles Per Game
Asamoah  62 2
Nani 53 1.8
Ramires  43 1.4
Antonio Valencia 35 1.3
Ashley Young 19 0.8

1. Final Comment

There's so much upside with Kwadwo Asamoah. 

Why didn't Manchester United sign Arturo Vidal from Bayer Leverkusen? Look at him now for Juventus—178 tackles, 71 interceptions, 51 created shots and seven goals. 

He's exactly the type of midfielder missing from Sir Alex Ferguson's starting XI. 

It's irrelevant that Asamoah isn't a big name. Does he have big-time potential? Yes. 

There's a reason why Antonio Conte wants to make Asamoah a Juve player. 

 

Follow allanjiangLIVE on Twitter

Please read Statistical Analysis of Downing's Failures

Statistics courtesy of WhoScored.com

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