Progress Report on the Early Season Form of Manchester United's Daley Blind

Asked in a recent MUTV interview to pass judgement on Manchester United's summer signings, Sir Alex Ferguson described Daley Blind as "one of those common-sense footballers."

He meant that Blind is effective, if unspectacular. But it was meant as a compliment. Ferguson knows more than most that good teams need players like Blind in order to function.

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Daley Blind is one of those common-sense footballers that make up a team. He’s probably a version of Darren Fletcher of a few years ago, that type of player. He’s a good professional with common sense to his game. He keeps it simple and protects the defenders and the attacking midfield players in his role.

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Blind might be a common-sense footballer. But it was also common sense on Louis van Gaal's part to sign the 24-year-old from Ajax. 

Van Gaal was short in midfield and at the back, and Blind can play in both those positions, as well as at left-back and left wing-back. His versatility is almost worth the £14 million fee alone.

So far, playing in front of the back four, he's been quietly impressive for United. Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao might have stolen the attention. But Blind is the kind of player who lets better players do what they do best. As Ferguson said, in that way he's not unlike Darren Fletcher.

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Blind is a fine player. He's sensible on the ball and makes up for a lack of pace with intelligent positioning. 

He was good enough to play in an Ajax team that won four Dutch titles. He was good enough to play in a Holland team that finished third at the World Cup in Brazil.

But he faces a fight to keep his place at United. Ferguson made good use of utility men during his time in charge at Old Trafford. John O'Shea, Phil Neville and, at times, Phil Jones plugged gaps in defence and midfield.

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O'Shea and Neville had spells in the team but were never considered first choice. Both had to move on to find regular first-team football. 

With his ability to play in a number of positions, Blind is the perfect player to get Van Gaal through this difficult transition. The new manager has been able to sign some of the players he wants but not others.

It will take time, and a couple more transfer windows, to build his team. It's likely to include a new central midfielder and another centre-back. And if that happens, it becomes difficult to see where Blind fits in.

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Van Gaal will hope that, by that time, United will be back in the Champions League and in need of a strong squad to cope with two games a week. In that scenario, Blind is the perfect squad player.

He's made a successful start to his career at United. It's still early, but it looks like money well spent. After surveying the situation, it made sense for Van Gaal to pursue a player he knows so well.

Blind will play an important role in the first stage of Van Gaal's rebuild at Old Trafford. The question mark is whether he'll still be such a key figure in the second.