@Jezpeza
A consistently high quality passer/playmaker would be someone you can rely on to run football matches. The last one we had was Carrick. Now, with Fred and Mctominay, they simply don't have the necessary tools to consistently pull it off. For every decent pass/turn or two, there's panic, over/under hit passes, heavy touches, reckless decision making and panic. These aren't midfielders who are calm, assured and precise in possession. They are
options you use to
disrupt imo. If we're satisfied with that, then top 4 is the best we'll ever do.
Pogba and Bruno are creative outlets more than midfield playmakers for me. For example there's a big difference between Modric and James Rodrigez. The former will be the heart and soul of your midfield dictating how you play, while the latter can create a lot of chances (and score some goals too). Bruno is more of the latter for me but of course a far better player. He's a machine in terms of goals and assists but I don't think he's much of a midfielder and really more of an attacker/10. Pogba is closer to midfielder but still not quite a proper one. He has very little quality off the ball and didn't thrive in tight intense midfield situations nor do I think he's very good at controlling games. He's at his best creating chances and giving your team flair that few can.
So yes we have a lot of good qualities in our midfield - physicality, stamina, pressing, creativity and goals. But the specifically in terms of pure defending and playmaking/controlling the buildup/consistently good passing from deep, there's a huge gaping hole imo.