What Would Paul Pogba Alternative Blaise Matuidi Bring to Manchester United?

Blaise Matuidi has been mooted as an alternative signing should Manchester United fail in their bid to bring back Paul Pogba this summer. Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News described Matuidi as United's "fallback target" should the Pogba deal not work out.

Miguel Delaney for ESPN FC, though, suggested United are "hoping to complete the signings of both" players.

Either way, it seems Matuidi is on the radar. One way or another, United appear to be keen to sign a French midfielder represented by Mino Raiola—as both Matuidi and Pogba are.

But if United do get the France international, what would he bring to Jose Mourinho's side?

Matuidi is a left-sided box-to-box midfielder. With Paris Saint-Germain, he is often used on the left of a midfield three. During Euro 2016, he was used primarily as a partner to Paul Pogba in the 4-2-3-1 upon which Les Bleus manager Didier Deschamps eventually settled.

Both of those options make him a fit in a simple positional sense for United's needs. And it would seem clear given Mourinho's reported interest in signing a midfielder the Portuguese is not content to rely on the existing options.

The Red Devils have brought in three central midfielders and Marouane Fellaini since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, but it would seem the new manager wants at least one more.

Graham Ruthven, writing for Yahoo Sports, suggested Matuidi may even be a better signing than Pogba, describing him as "the safer, shrewder and maybe even more suitable option." 

He also wrote:

"

At PSG the French midfielder has provided stability as an entire club in transformation revolved around him. Big-money signings, as well as big-name managers, have come and gone at the Parc des Princes, but Matuidi remained. That is testament to his quality and structural significance to the Ligue 1 outfit. His asking price might not reflect it as such, but Matuidi’s quality is recognised by those who know the sport best.

"

Matuidi has certainly been a vital player in the domestically all-conquering Ligue 1 side. Twenty-three is the fewest starts he has made in any league season for Les Parisiens. He has not played under 2,000 league minutes since his arrival in 2011.

In the season just gone, he made his highest number of assists in a single campaign for the French champions: six. The more detailed numbers bear out evidence of greater creativity. He made an average of 1.2 key passes per 90 minutes in the league in 2015/16, an improvement on his previous best of 0.9 in 2014/15.

Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images

That increase in creativity has not come at the cost of his safety in possession. Indeed, his passing accuracy has not dropped below 90 per cent for a league season since 2012/13—when it was a perfectly respectable 88.6 per cent. In 2015/16, it was 91.8 per cent.

He also scored four league goals—his best having been five in both 2012/13 and 2014/15.

However, 2012/13 was the last time his combined total for goals and assists was not bettered by Pogba in league play. That was the former United man's first season at Juventus, and he scored five, providing no assists—the same as Matuidi managed for Paris.

Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

In the subsequent seasons, Pogba's goal-and-assist totals have been 14, 11 and 20, whereas Matuidi's have been seven, six and 10. That difference in output speaks a little to the difference in the roles they play for their respective teams. Matuidi plays on the left of a 4-3-3, and Pogba typically plays the more attacking central-midfield role in a 3-5-2.

In games Juventus dominate, he has significant licence to get forward. He certainly takes a lot more shots—an average of 3.7 per 90 minutes in Serie A in 2015/16 compared to Matuidi's Ligue 1 average of 0.7. However, the origins of that difference lie more in Pogba's superiority as an attacking force than in any stylistic difference.

When asked to name an alternative to Pogba during a recent questions-and-answers session on Twitter, football writer Andy Brassell suggested Matuidi, citing his energy as a key component in his abilities.

He demonstrated that at the European Championship, tirelessly working to get the ball back when France lost possession—of the players who made more than one appearance, only N'Golo Kante attempted more tackles per 90 minutes for Les Bleus during the Euros. 

And that defensive contribution is a key part of his game.

Matuidi attempted 4.6 tackles per 90 minutes in the league last season. Ander Herrera, with 5.3, was the only midfielder at United who attempted more. However, Herrera's successful tackle completion was 3.3 per game, only a fraction higher than Matuidi's 3.2, suggesting the Frenchman's timing was a good deal better.

His energy means he can be a true box-to-box player. When PSG beat Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie in February, Jacob Steinberg of the Guardian wrote:

"

[In] a team packed with star quality, one of the standout performances came from Blaise Matuidi, who never seems to go close to having a bad game, overwhelming Chelsea with his impressive blend of powerful running and clever passing. Matuidi has seen a lot of high-grade midfielders come and go during his five years at the Parc des Princes and he is a rare thing at PSG, a French player who has survived the influx from foreign leagues, rising to the challenge, feeding off the pressure and developing into one of the finest players in his position in Europe.

"

He is not free from mistakes, of course. Indeed, during the final of Euro 2016, he should have made more effort to get close to Eder when the Portugal man fired in his long-range winner. But it was extra time at the end of a long tournament, and while it proved a crucial lapse, it was fairly understandable.

"

Just wanna point out that Matuidi didn't even try to defend on Eder before the goal. pic.twitter.com/K85IApMRDk

— István Beregi (@szteveo) July 10, 2016"

His combined goal-and-assist record proves he is generally nothing like the game-changer Pogba is. Indeed, interest in signing both players makes a lot more sense than perceiving Matuidi as a backup option should Pogba prove unattainable. They are such different players and would serve to meet different deficiencies in United's squad.

Pogba would bring some much-needed magic—given the additions of Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, that is clearly something Mourinho has prioritised. Pogba has the potential to be a once-in-a-generation midfield talent, something Matuidi clearly is not, fine player though he may be.

Matuidi is also 29 years old and will turn 30 during the course of the 2016/17 season, meaning he is unlikely to improve further. He is a known quantity, and between Herrera and Morgan Schneiderlin, United already have energy and combativeness in the centre of the park.

Matuidi's signing only becomes necessary if Mourinho decides he does not rate his existing box-to-box options.

FRANCK FIFE/Getty Images

And as with Ibrahimovic, a question mark hangs over how his Ligue 1 form would translate to the much higher intensity of the Premier League. PSG have swept all before them in France in recent seasons—Matuidi's job in Paris is surely easier than his job in Manchester would be.

He is not an alternative to Pogba in style. He would be a helpful—though not vital—addition to United's midfield options. He would bring defensive contributions, safe use of the ball and a great deal of energy but not much in the way of stardust. He would be functional, rather than electrifying, at Old Trafford.

Advanced data courtesy of WhoScored.com.