What Is Anderson Luis de Abreu Oliveira's Best Position at Manchester United?

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He didn't have the best of Champions League finals, but he still is our midfield magician.

Okay, favoritism aside, I want to take an honest, unbiased look at Anderson, the 21 year old Manchester United midfielder and figure out just where exactly Sir Alex might utilise him best.

Anderson is probably the fastest player on Manchester United right now. How fast? Well, just faster then the player next to him. He has the ability to beat anybody for speed, and like when teams raise there ability to the opposition, Anderson often finds an extra gear to beat the speedier players. This is an advantage that would make him useful anywhere on the pitch, especially in the attacking third.

Anderson can't shoot to save his life. Everyone knows this. He has proven time and time again that he is about as far from a fox-in-the-box as a fox is from a box. But he is a fantastic penalty taker.

Overall, though, Anderson is probably not the player Sir Alex will rely on to recreate the goals that Ronaldo's departure has lost. This would probably cause Anderson not to be best as a forward.

Anderson is a great passer. He has shown that he may well be the spiritual heir to Scholes with his accuracy, with both his short and long range passing. Similarly his crossing is good. This would make him either an efficient center midfielder or winger/wide midfielder.

Defensively, Anderson is also very sound, although this is mostly due to his speed and strength. On that note, Anderson is one of the most physical, strong players United have. He would be able to help out the defense.

Technically, Anderson is a typical Brazilian. He has the flair, while not going over board, a-la-Ronaldo. He can beat a man, and then do something with it, all in an entertaining fashion. Although shown in rather limited glimpses, looking back at his Gremio and Porto years, along with the times he got a good run of games, one can see Anderson's technical ability is very good.

Taking all these into consideration, I tried to pinpoint where exactly Anderson would be best utilised so as to get the most from the player, while continuing his already startling development.

Anderson is clearly an attacking player, but through a mixture of Sir Alex's intent to make him into a more complete player and his natural physique, he could help in the defense significantly.

In the midfield, United would best operate with an attacking center midfielder and a defensive one. So, for Anderson to play one of these would subtract from his total skill set. But he can't play up top, so that only leaves the wing, where Anderson, in my opinion, would prosper immensely.

He has the pace, strength, and skill to take players on. He has the ability to help out on the defense as well, covering for any of United's fullbacks, all of whom love to overlap. Placing him on the wing, if he played as a typical winger, would allow him to pass and cross—things he excels at, while reducing the burden to score, something that Anderson, in all honesty, is absolutely dire at.

So these are my thoughts. Tell me where you think he could play best, wings, center, up top, etc.

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