Weighing Up Manchester United's Midfield Options This Summer

With Manchester United chasing a late equaliser against West Ham United, and desperately short of a creative spark, Louis van Gaal overlooked his two most inventive midfielders. Ander Herrera and Juan Mata remained on the bench as Marouane Fellaini was thrown on to salvage a result at Upton Park.

The lanky Belgian fulfilled his brief, forcing the poor clearing header from a long ball into the West Ham box which led to Daley Blind’s stoppage-time leveller. But the fact that Fellaini made it on to the pitch at all was illustrative of the unease Van Gaal feels about his midfield options at present.

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United signed no fewer than three midfielders over the summer transfer window, and yet their central unit has never looked more muddled and incoherent. On the basis of their recent performances, and comments from the Dutchman himself, Van Gaal is far from happy with his current midfield formula.

“I am looking for balance and I need balance in midfield,” underlined Van Gaal, as per the official Manchester United website. “When I play with [Adnan] Januzaj and [Angel] Di Maria in the midfield positions, then you need a certain balance for that kind of creative player.

“So when you have these creative players, and also [Radamel] Falcao and [Robin] Van Persie are creative players, then you have four creative players and you have to look for balance in your team.”

Essentially, Van Gaal is looking for a player to anchor his inherently attacking midfield unit. Blind has been used as something of a makeshift solution in such a role, but the Dutch international still isn’t quite the kind of enforcer Van Gaal is ideally targeting this summer.

So what names will make their way on to United’s transfer market shortlist by the end of the season? With rival Premier League sides like Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all looking for a similar type of player, Van Gaal will face competition for the midfielder he desires.

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Paul Pogba is the tailor-made candidate to solve United’s midfield issues, although any move for the Juventus man would require a hefty gulp of pride from those at Old Trafford who allowed him to leave the club in the first place nearly three years ago.

Agent Mino Raiola has already told Marca (h/t Goal.com's Harry West) that it might take €100 million for any club to sign his client Pogba, but such a prospective fee is reflective of how the 21-year-old is regarded in the game. United would be signing football’s next great central midfielder.

Van Gaal could also target Kevin Strootman, a player he knows well having coached the Dutch national team for two years. The Roma midfielder’s development has been hindered by a serious knee injury suffered before last summer’s World Cup, but Strootman could be the swaggering box-to-box force the United boss is looking for.

After the failed gamble on Radamel Falcao, who looks set to leave United once his season-long loan expires having struggled to make much of an impression in England, Van Gaal might be unwilling to take a similar punt on another injury-prone player, especially one who will prove integral to the Dutchman’s Manchester United master plan.

“My impression is that the surgery on Strootman’s ligament did not go perfectly,” explained former Roma club doctor Mario Brozzi—as per La Partita Perfetta (via the Guardian)—casting more more doubt on the prospect of the midfielder making the move to United in the summer.

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If United are to look closer to home, then perhaps Morgan Schneiderlin—who will be a target for both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, according to The Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson—would fit the bill, given how he has proven himself as a commanding and formidable midfield operator for Southampton this season.

Koke could be another option for Van Gaal, although the star in the Atletico Madrid midfield pivot is a different kind of midfielder to Pogba and Strootman—even if he does possess the presence United are in need of.

And there’s always the chance that United could return for Arturo Vidal, following their failed efforts to lure the Chilean from Juventus last season. Although, just as is the case with Strootman, recent injury struggles could put Van Gaal off paying upwards of £35 million for the midfielder, regardless of how good he is on top form.

Bastian Schweinsteiger was converted from a right-winger to a central midfielder by Van Gaal when the Dutchman was in charge of Bayern Munich, and while the German international might have turned the wrong side of 30, he would still provide some stability to an overly fluid United midfield.

With Borussia Dortmund enduring a dismal season domestically, from which they could miss out on Champions League qualification, Ilkay Gundogan could be tempted by a United offer. Indeed, the German appeared to be a favourite of David Moyes, although Van Gaal might be wary of taking another signing sanctioned from above.

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Herrera wasn’t a Van Gaal signing, with the Dutchman approving the Spaniard’s summer move from Athletic Bilbao following United’s 2013 pursuit of the player, according to the Manchester Evening News' Stuart Mathieson.

The consensus is Angel Di Maria wasn’t a prime target for Van Gaal either, with the Argentinian only ending up at Old Trafford due to chief executive Ed Woodward’s desire to establish United as the Galacticos of the Premier League.

Blind was the only midfielder signed by United under Van Gaal’s instruction last season, and while he has performed a role for the club this season, he isn’t up to the standard of someone like Pogba, or even Strootman.

Coming into a new season on the back of a World Cup, in which Netherlands were involved right up until the third-place play-off, Van Gaal was never afforded the chance to draw up his own shortlist of transfer targets.

And so the United manager has largely been asked to make do with players who are everyone’s besides his. This summer, Van Gaal will finally get the opportunity to sign his own, including the central midfielder he’s always wanted.