UNPOPULAR OPINION: Jason Wilcox has largely made good signings as director of football at Manchester United.
The United midfield was not as “terrific” as claimed at Leeds but it has improved with in the starting XI, flanked by Andrey Santos and with further forward.
Baleba and Santos are yet to start in United wins. Tielemans is the only player who has started in all ten of their games this term.
Last week seemed certain to be the week that Tielemans’ regular run would end. Instead, he had his best week for United.
Of the 2025 incomings, is United’s joint-top scorer. United miss . has wobbled this season but it may only be that. is no busted flush.
But back to the midfield. United invested £155million on their rebuild. It is not the chicken feed that some of their online followers would have you believe but it is dwarfed by City’s spending.
Ayyoub Bouaddi, City’s cheapest midfield summer recruit, still cost more than Baleba, United’s most expensive.
Tielemans was an opportunistic deal. The £35m United had set aside for defensive midfielder Ederson at Atalanta before a medical issue kiboshed that deal was spent on Tielemans, who had a release clause.
The captain is an attacking midfielder and, at 29, outside United’s preferred age bracket of 22-26.
Tielemans admitted he expected to continue at and United were the only club in for him. That immediately exposed United’s shifting strategy.
Baleba is the only defensive midfielder in Michael Carrick’s squad. implored United to bring in three years ago as he was conscious that , born on Valentine’s Day and starting to wilt like a bunch of roses, was the only No6 available to him.
Ten Hag was happy to sell to make room for Amrabat.
The Dutchman has attempted some unchallenged revisionism on McTominay, a player he did not want to lose a year after he was happy to lose him.
In the current Premier League, physicality is vital. Until Baleba’s belated arrival, it looked like Carrick was prepared to operate with a more technical approach even though United were still intent on bringing in a third midfielder.
McTominay is not technically proficient but is a physical powerhouse.
Tielemans came on for his maiden United appearance at the same time as Bruno Fernandes against in a pre-season friendly in Gothenburg.
During his 25-minute cameo, Tielemans played the ball to Fernandes seven times. Twenty-one of Tielemans’ 22 passes were accurate and he fashioned a chance for Fernandes.
Wilcox, in attendance at the Ullevi Stadium, was encouraged by this and felt there were glimpses of a budding collaboration between the pair. That was blind optimism.
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It was a friendly, PSG’s squad was depleted post-World Cup and the crowd at Gothenburg was 36,000. Not even half the size of .
Exchanging a few passes and the occasional thumbs up from a teammate was not going to wash. Since the actual season started, Tielemans and Fernandes have collaborated once for the latter to score against the might of newbies Sabah.
And Tielemans has had his best games in Fernandes’ position. Fernandes was shifted to the right in Madrid and the left at Leeds last week.
Tielemans created five chances across those games, one of them for Fernandes that the United captain prodded wide with Atletico only 1-0 up.
Fernandes has barely concealed his unhappiness at the role change. United are not winning, which has compounded his wholly negative body language, yet he is not channeling his demanding streak positively.
He has been playing with an injury, yet Carrick said last week that is no longer an issue. Tielemans was even substituted with Fernandes still on the pitch at Atletico and Leeds.
In the latter, Fernandes dummied the ball in added time and had a hissy fit when Leeds gained control of it. Seconds later, United regained possession in the final third yet Fernandes had barely noticed due to his strop.
Afterwards, Fernandes appeared weary as he strolled out of Elland Road towards the United coach. He informed a handful of journalists he was “not allowed” to speak.
Tielemans as the No8 and Fernandes as the No10 has not worked. On current form, Fernandes should make way yet Carrick has not been brave enough to drop him.
United have four wingers who could start ahead of Fernandes – Amad, Mbeumo, Cunha and .
The latter has been managing a hip injury, another damning indictment on United’s pre-season plans and their purely positive rhetoric on a player they wanted rid of. Rashford missed training on Tuesday morning.
Mbeumo has to play up front in Sesko’s absence, so Carrick does not necessarily have the plethora of options that appears on paper.
But Fernandes was United’s weakest player in two bear pits last week when he has so often been the player who would poke the bear.
