Daley Blind Is a Key Player for Manchester United, but for How Long?
There was something quite symbolic about Daley Blind’s transfer to Manchester United this summer. Signed after Angel Di Maria but before Radamel Falcao, the Dutchman spent very little time in the limelight. As his superstar team-mates commanded much of the fanfare, Blind flew under the radar. It’s been a similar story on the pitch.
Di Maria’s genius has stolen the headlines, while Blind has just kept things ticking over in midfield without fuss.
It’s clear that he is a key player for Louis van Gaal—but for how long will that be the case? If there’s one player who is dispensable in United’s midfield, it’s Blind.
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Deployed at the base of a diamond, Blind is tasked with breaking up opposition attacks and starting his own. It’s a job he’s extremely comfortable performing. He’s never flustered, never fazed and he’s integral to United’s style of play.
Blind’s debut, which came in the 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers, highlighted his role perfectly. He had 122 touches of the ball and made 112 passes, more than any other player on the pitch. He set the tempo for what was a comfortable victory.
That prompted Leicester City to man-mark him a week later. David Nugent followed Blind around the pitch like a shadow, and it worked. The Dutchman registered only 70 touches of the ball and made just 49 passes—five United players had more touches and three made more passes. Leicester provided a blueprint of how to shut Blind down.
In the 2-1 win over Everton, Romelu Lukaku, who tried to get the best of United’s 19-year-old centre-back Paddy McNair in the opening exchanges, had to drop deeper to stop Blind from controlling proceedings midway through the first half.
Opposing teams are starting to realise that much of United’s play goes through Blind, so it’s a compliment as much as anything that they pay close attention to him.
There’s certainly nothing new about teams trying to minimise the impact of a deep-lying midfielder.
Aston Villa are one of the many Premier League teams this season who identified that they could negate Liverpool’s attacking threat by stopping Steven Gerrard from getting on the ball.
Blind, like Gerrard and a number of other quarterback-type midfielders, will inevitably find himself man-marked on occasion. The better he plays, the more often it will happen. How he deals with it is crucial.
If he manages to engineer his own space, he will thrive. But if he finds himself on the fringes of a match, as he was at Leicester, he will struggle. It hasn’t become an issue yet, but United’s future opponents would be wise to consider marking Blind out of the game.
When West Bromwich Albion host United after the international break, they will line up with Saido Berahino in attack and Stephane Sessegnon operating in the space just behind him. Don’t be surprised if Sessegnon tracks Blind when United are in possession.
The worry is that Blind’s weaknesses can easily be exploited. A lack of pace and strength will get taken advantage of by Premier League teams.
This season’s two title favourites, Manchester City and Chelsea, both have athletic players in central midfield. Fernandinho, Fernando, Yaya Toure and Nemanja Matic are four players who simply dominate the opposition.
United still need that, as they have done for years.
Someone who fits the bill in that regard is Roma’s Kevin Strootman. The Dutchman would add some much-needed mettle to Van Gaal’s midfield.
His signing would be bad news for Blind, though. It would be difficult to justify dropping Di Maria or Ander Herrera from the starting XI, but you could make a strong case for swapping Blind with someone who is strong and physical.
Whether that player is Strootman or not, it’s Blind who is replaceable from the current midfield.
Blind has unquestionably brought a semblance of calm to United’s midfield. There’s a leisurely style about his play that is very assuring. But when opposing teams play with intensity, Blind is less convincing as a defensive midfielder.
That, looking ahead, is where the problem lies with Blind.
The Dutchman will stand out against the likes of QPR, as he will get plenty of space to control the game. Only once United face Chelsea and City in the next few weeks will it become clear if he can have the same impact against quality opposition.
If he can’t, then Blind may not be a key player under Van Gaal for long.
United’s ambition is to qualify for the Champions League in 2015, to be playing against the world’s best teams once again. Blind will certainly help Van Gaal reach that target, but it remains to be seen whether he is robust enough to be a permanent fixture in United’s midfield.
All statistics via WhoScored.com
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