Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in the summer of 2013, it has felt like an annual occurrence when Manchester United have been told by fans, pundits and rival supporters alike that they need to sign a holding midfielder.
Initially they obliged of course, parting with £289.9m to strengthen their engine room and bring in Marouane Fellaini, Daley Blind, Ander Herrera, Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Fred year after year up.
The failings of such signings, culminating in the arrival of the Brazilian after failing to land long-term target Fabinho in the summer of 2018, even prompted United to ignore such pleas over the past three years. After all, while they might have still desperately needed a new enforcer, where’s the fun in signing a ‘number six’ if history suggests he would flop and it came at the cost of re-signing the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo?
