Manchester United: 5 Midfield Additions to Reinvigorate Stuttering Season

Sir Alex Ferguson sat, head in hands, frenetic jaw clamping incessantly on gum that had been chewed too much. It was a pose that sent shockwaves around world football.

Manchester United, the bastion of English footballing excellence, had been battered, demoralised and wearied by the young pretender, 6-1, at home. It was a low day.

United, like United always do, have stayed strong in the wake of the cataclysm, but successive away victories over Aldershot and an impressive battling victory at Goodison has done little to sate the vultures, driven wild by the Manchester massacre.

Despite a strong start to the season in which the two Manchester clubs seemingly traded tit for tat demolitions, the midfield remains a major flaw.

United have no creative player in the ilk of City’s brilliant David Silva, who so far this season has been nothing short of phenomenal. This leads Wayne Rooney to continually indulge in more and more meaningless forays further down the pitch. For in the bright light of sky blue, for all Darren Fletcher’s industry and Anderson’s eternal potential, neither can compensate for the patent absence of this creative hub in the centre.

Here we look at five options that can revolutionise the Red Devil’s stuttering midfield.

Mario Goetze

At only 19 years of age, Mario Goetze has star quality literally oozing from every orifice. Already capped numerous times for Joachim Loew’s youthful German side, the Borussia Dortmund playmaker is a young man in demand.

However, as the German outfit’s most marketable asset, the obstacles to a potential deal would be numerous, with rival suitors Dortmund’s reticence to sell and the well-publicised ostentation of German players to move abroad all seeking to put a kibosh on the deal.

If United are to fortify their wavering tenancy at the summit of English football, however, I quite honestly could not think of a better insurance policy for Alex Ferguson to invest in. If it can happen, it really, really should.

Tom Cleverley

Cleverley was the reason Ferguson cited at the start of the season for his having not invested in the centre-midfielder fans of the club were crying out for.

And the young Englishman’s stunning early season form look set to have once again proven the temerity of Ferguson’s judgement to be as strong as ever. Then, Cleverley injured his ankle and was subsequently forced to miss a month's action, including the humbling at old Trafford.

His return, quite possibly in the weekend’s match against Sunderland, could well be the injection of creativity that United need to step back on their well worn winning road.

Eden Hazard

Continuing the young continental theme of this list, 20-year-old Lille playmaker Hazard is another for whom a move to Old Trafford could become a mutually beneficial equation.

A plethora of the world's top clubs were courting Hazard in the summer, but after the sale of their other star man Gervinho to Arsenal, with admirable fortitude, Lille stuck to their guns to prevent Hazard’s departure. It will not be the same equation a second time round.

Although primarily a winger, the adaptable Hazard can also play through the centre, a key trait for Sir Alex’s highly interchangeable sides, and with Lille failing to live up to last season’s title winning heroics, the price wont be as steep, either.

Win, win you might say.

Javi Martinez

The most conventional central player on this list, Basque-born Martinez currently plies his trade in the Basque breeding ground of Bilbao.

Standing a well built 6’4", Martinez’s impressive touch and vision belies his imposing stature.

Martinez’s style would be well suited to the technically proficient yet physically imposing style of the EPL, possibly best employed as foil for Cleverley.

With seven Spanish caps to his name, in a position that can boast such excellence as Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas in its ranks, you start to get an idea of Martinez’s calibre.

Now at 23 years of age, the Spaniard is in danger of outgrowing his old stomping ground, a fact Sir Alex Ferguson should look to exploit.

Antonio Valencia

The final player on this list is another who already calls Old Trafford home.

To me, Antonio Valencia has been critically undervalued this term after the summer arrival of Ashley Young, despite being United’s most potent attacking threat at the tail end of last year.

The dynamism of Young and Nani’s wing tandem lit up the early season both at and on location from Old Trafford, and in such a circumstance, I would find it hard to justify the case for such alterations to the side. Yet in recent weeks, the equation has seemed somewhat diluted, impotent even, as Nani in particular has struggled to live up to the precedent his initial form set.

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it… if it is, send for Antonio?