
Is Roman Neustadter Manchester United's Plan B to Arturo Vidal?
If Manchester United abandon the chase to sign Juventus central midfielder Arturo Vidal, could Schalke's Roman Neustadter be plan B?
To address that hypothetical scenario, here is a scouting report onย Neustadter, a 26-year-oldย German international.ย
Neustadter Positives
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Possessing balance, mobility, power and superlative size,ย Neustadter is blessed with the physical tangibles to prosper in the Premier League.ย
At 6'3" and 183 pounds,ย Neustadterย is bigger, stronger and taller thanย Vidal (5'11", 165 pounds).
Whenย Neustadter played forย Borussia Monchengladbach, he was predominantlyย a midfield destroyer with a simple role: win back the ball andย distributeย it toย Marco Reus.
Neustadter accrued 169 tackles and intercepted 162 passes in 59 Bundesliga games for Gladbach.

Since moving toย Schalke,ย Neustadter hasย proved his game is more extensive.ย
Showing footballing smarts,ย Neustadter chested the ball into the path of then-Schalkeย (now Hoffenheim) centre-forward Adam Szalai againstย Hannover 96.

After playing a neat one-two withย Schalke substituteย Leon Goretzka,ย Neustadter split open Wolfsburg's defence with a through ball to Schalke central midfielderย Kevin-Prince Boateng.ย

Carrying the ball out of defence,ย Neustadter pierced Hannover's back line with an incisive pass to then-Schalke (now Konyaspor) centre-forwardย Ciprian Marica.

Being a passing outlet and creating impact plays is an area whereย Neustadter is comparable to Vidal.
| League Only | Arturo Vidal | Roman Neustadter |
| Assists | 5 | 5 |
| Key Passes Per Game | 1.5 | 1.0 |
| Passes Per Game | 45.9 | 50.8 |
| Pass Completion % | 83.7 | 83.0 |
| Long Passes Per Game | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Long Pass Completion % | 81.3 | 79.8 |
Neustadter Negatives
Whenย Schalke wereย hemorrhaging goals last season,ย Neustadter spoke about the team's need to enforce in midfield.
"We have to attack the ball more aggressively,"ย Neustadter said, perย Schalke's official website. "We're spitting venom again [flying into tackles in training] and that's how we need to carry on."
However, Neustadterย noticeably declined in defensive productivity for Schalke.
In addition, his defensive output over the last four seasons was significantly lower thanย Vidal's.ย
| Roman Neustadter League Only | 2013-14 | 2012-13 | 2011-12 | 2010-11 |
| Tackles Per Game | 2.1 | 3.2 | 3.0 | 2.9 |
| Fouls Per Game | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Tackles Per Foul | 1.7 | 2.5 | 2.3 | 3.5 |
| Interceptions Per Game | 2.8 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 2.1 |
| Possessions Won Back Per Game | 4.9 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 5.0 |
| ย | ย | ย | ย | ย |
| Arturo Vidalย League Only | 2013-14 | 2012-13 | 2011-12 | 2010-11 |
| Tackles Per Game | 4.1 | 4.9 | 5.4 | 4.7 |
| Fouls Per Game | 2.3 | 1.9 | 2.1 | 2.4 |
| Tackles Per Foul | 1.8 | 2.6 | 2.6 | 2.0 |
| Interceptions Per Game | 1.2 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 2.8 |
| Possessions Won Back Per Game | 5.3 | 6.4 | 7.6 | 7.5 |
Neustadter's defensive ability was at timesย unconvincingย last season.
This was illustrated when Real Madrid right-forwardย Gareth Bale was offered ample time byย Neustadter.ย
Bale telegraphed his cut in, soย Neustadter covering as ifย the Welsh international would veer to the outside was a low-percentage decision.ย
Neustadter was not in position toย cut offย Bale'sย passing lane.ย
As a result, Bale completed a pass to Real left-forwardย Cristiano Ronaldo, who punishedย Schalke.


Lacking awareness,ย Neustadter had the ball stolen byย Werder Bremen defensive midfielderย Felix Kroos (younger brother of Toni).ย

Neustadter ball-watched and forgot to markย Borussia Dortmund central attacking midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who played in Dortmund left attacking midfielderย Marco Reus.

Bottom Line
Vidalย has given conflicting responses regarding his future atย Juventus.ย
While he said "No, no," when asked if he would join United, he also said, perย Sky Sports Italia (h/t The Guardian): "I don't know if I am staying at Juventus at the moment."
The smoking gun isย Antonio Conte walking out of theย Juventus job.ย
One theory behindย Conte'sย resignationย was being informed byย Juventus thatย Vidal andย Paul Pogba wereย saleable assets in this summer transfer window.ย
United risk paying a Real Madrid-esque transfer fee the longer the Vidal transfer saga drags on.
How aboutย Neustadter as a viable alternative?ย
Tasked with anchoringย Schalke's midfield,ย Neustadter went missing for parts of the season.
There was a drop-off in quality when you compared his performances last season toย Augsburg'sย Daniel Baier or Gladbach loaneeย Christoph Kramer, two of theย Bundesliga's pre-eminent central midfielders.ย
That said,ย Neustadter isย physically superior toย Vidal, just as good a passer and would be a cheaper option.
Statistics viaย WhoScored.com

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