For what seems like a decade, Manchester United have struggled with a midfield not fit for purpose. The midfield has always lacked something. Under Mourinho it was Matic. While he was an experienced player, he was on the wrong side of 30, which made his lack of pace even more apparent.
Then came the indomitable duo 'McFred' (McTominay and Fred), but the two were a mismatch. Not only was McTominay poor in possession, but he clearly wasn't built for a deep role. After all, he was a striker in his academy days. Fred, on the other hand, was partial to a bozo moment every few games, which made him an unreliable DM.
The latest was the arrival of Casemiro. An incredible midfielder, yet again on the wrong side of 30. His first season, however, was incredible. We were sold as fans. We thought that despite failing to bring in Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, we had at the very least found a quality stopgap.
Ohhh, how wrong we were. How WRONG we were!!!
Casemiro's depreciation in his second season was jaw-dropping. He looked stiff. He looked heavy. Immobile. He could no longer keep up with the pace and powah* of the Premier League. Ugarte, at this point, seemed to be the answer.
Then came Amorim in late November and the formation changed. Out went the three-man midfield and in came the two tens and two central midfielders. Immediately, it became clear that we didn't have a competent core that we could rely on.
Kobbie Mainoo, the youngest of the midfielders, was ideally the best candidate, but he didn't have the recovery pace after losing possession. It couldn't be Casemiro. He lacked the pace but worse still, he lacked defensive discipline. It couldn't be Ugarte. While he excels at possession recoveries, technical ability is where he lacks the most. He couldn't be trusted to receive the ball under pressure because he would lose the ball easily. He was also not that fast.
Left with no choice, Amorim decided to drop Bruno Fernandes into a deeper role. Yet the same problems still manifest themselves. While Bruno is a strong runner, he is not a fast one. He doesn't have the speed to run back towards goal. He also has the job of anchoring the attack while in possession.
When he moves into this position, he leaves a lot of space behind him and that is where you need an athletic midfielder to cover. That cannot be Mainoo, Casemiro, or Ugarte.
It is the exact reason Manchester United were after Carlos Baleba. If there was a perfect signing to remedy our current midfield woes, it would be him.
Manchester United cannot let the summer window close without a Baleba alternative, even on loan. As I always say, a good attack is anchored on a good defense. You cannot expect the attackers to thrive if they have to keep worrying about what is happening, or not happening, behind them.
That is our reality and maybe we have to wait until next season to finaly fix our long-standing midfield problems.