Erik ten Hag is hoping to rebuild Manchester United this summer. He will take charge of the Red Devils next season but before then, the squad must be strengthened using the transfer market, especially considering the number of players who have departed in recent weeks.
His midfield department in particular requires plenty of investment. Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata did not have their contracts extended at the end of last season and Nemanja Matic joined AS Roma last week, meaning additions are essential.
Christian Eriksen and Frenkie De Jong are two of the most prominent links. It remains to be seen whether the duo will end up at United, but could they realistically play together alongside Bruno Fernandes?
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If there's one thing United have suffered from over the past 12 months, it is balance. Harry Maguire, the club's captain, has referenced the problem during post-match interviews, with the wealth of attacking players at the club typically overwhelming the lack of stability in the middle of the park, equating to bad performances.
Fernandes is a natural no.10 and although Eriksen is more versatile in comparison, the same applies to the Dane. In De Jong, the Dutch midfielder is more inclined to pick up the ball in deeper areas before progressing the play which bodes well, but he too is attack-minded at heart.
The prospect of United lacking balance with those three players is ominous, but it could work depending on Ten Hag's coaching ability and where on the pitch those players are deployed.
On the coaching side of things, Pep Guardiola shocked the Premier League when he fielded a midfield trio of Fernandinho, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva some years ago, with two of those players commonly regarded as no.10s. As a result of Guardiola's training, Manchester City's dominance over the ball, the compactness of the system and the willingness of the three players to cover excessive ground, the Etihad side didn't encounter issues.
Ten Hag has worked with Guardiola in the past, and he has experience of Ajax's ways under his belt, with total football taking centre stage at the legendary European club. In Amsterdam, every player is an attacker with the ball, and every player is a defender without it. If Ten Hag can instil the same mentality into his players at Old Trafford, the system should remain efficient and effective - within reason - regardless of which players are selected.
In terms of where the three players are deployed positionally, Eriksen holds the key. The 30-year-old has proved to be influential all over the pitch throughout his career, with Mauricio Pochettino using him on the right side of a 4-2-3-1 during his time at Tottenham Hotspur.
Dele Alli played as the team's no.10 in those days at Spurs, and the system worked well with Eriksen regularly feeding him and Harry Kane with crosses from out wide. With Cristiano Ronaldo in place of Kane in Manchester, the goals could flow.
If Ten Hag does decide to keep United's go-to 4-2-3-1 next season, Eriksen could technically play on the right, with Fernandes as a no.10 and De Jong further back as one of the two holding midfielders. In such a situation, United would benefit from having a more defensive presence next to De Jong to preserve the balance of the team but overall, there are ways to play the trio in the same side without performances suffering.
Ultimately, it is reasonable to suggest the biggest factor is Ten Hag's level of expertise on the training ground.
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