So after all the concern, how do you rate our squad’s midfield?

[marktan]

Who knows? No one hear knows if Amrabat is any good / will fit.

A month ago everyone decided Cas - Mount - Bruno had solved our problems. Funny that Mount has now quickly been relegated to the bench.

The key will be if Amrabat has a good passing range or not. He's energetic which is good, but so is Mount. Realistically what we really need in midfield is strong Casemiro cover (e.g. Lavia or Bissouma) and a high energy passing box to box like FDJ or even Szobzalai / McAlister. Fred got there at times but was too inconsistent. Just because Amrabat is a new name in the squad doesn't mean he'll be what we need - wait and see and then we can judge the midfield properly.

 

[meamth]

Well I'm looking at it like this:

Genuine world class players: Bruno, Casemiro
Elite level: Mount (jury's out)
Good quality: Amrabat, Eriksen
Average players: McTominay, Van de Beek
Potential to be good: Hannibal, Gore, Mainoo

So we have like 3 with renowned reputation and 2 good choices. 5 of those going to play the most this season and I believe we can achieve good things.

 

[skc_18]

Excited to see Case and Amrabat midfield partnership. I think Case would like to pair with Amrabat, with latter being the DM and Case being the CM. Would give us good balance as well.

 

[ArbeitervonWien]

I think it's a really strong group of players. The quality is high as is the depth. We have different options with different skillsets that should give us tactical flexibility. The age mix is also good. Should be really an upgrade since the Solskjær days.

Haven't been that optimistic about our midfield since we signed schmidfield

 

[El Jefe]

7/10. About the same level as Spurs really.

I still don't see us controlling the midfield in the big games and that ultimately is the strength of a teams midfield in my opinion.

 

[Glorio]

Still lacks a ball carrier in the middle areas. Massively lacks real press resistant passers.

We obviously don't know how much game time they'll get, but the youngsters (Mainoo and Hannibal) are definitely both carriers. Hannibal the more obvious, that's basically his game

 

[sglowrider]

All things being equal, its a top 4-5 side. We wont win the league with it though -- will take another couple of seasons before we can go heads-on with City. Thats assuming that no other sides strengthen.

 

[colombianmancunian]

Good midfield who allows us to play either 4231 or 4123. World class players in Case and Bruno, good players in Amrabat, Eriksen and Mount, average in McTominay, awful in DVB, and good promises in the youngsters. A 7-8/10 midfield for me.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

I think we have a lot of flexibility with this group. ETH will probably use subs to get in all of Bruno, Mount, Casemiro, Amrabat, with an eye to going the distance in the cups as well as the league. I don’t see Gore and Hannibal getting much time aside from cups, so I hope we go deep in those. McT and Beek are surplus. Eriksen to steady the ship when Bruno has a wobbly game.

I am more excited about this midfield than I have been in years. With Hojland operating as the tip of the spear, it should open things up for Bruno and Mount to create and score. I’m excited about this team. Onana and Hojland could transform our style.

I see us finishing 2nd again.

 

[Marcus]

Looking good now overall. About 7.5/10. Sufficient cover for injuries. And Case does not need to get red-carded to get some rest.

 

[Trequarista10]

Excited to see Case and Amrabat midfield partnership. I think Case would like to pair with Amrabat, with latter being the DM and Case being the CM. Would give us good balance as well.

Agreed. Casemiro has surprised me with how good he is in the final third. Whereas playing out of defence isn't his strong suit and naturally his stamina will decline year by year, so having Amrabat taking the more defensive role will allow Casemiro to venture further forwards more regularly, whilst also giving us solidity.

I think ETH wants a very fluid system with players shifting into different positions and different moments, so the real question is how well the players can fit that system and work together, rather than the individual quality of the players. Liverpool won major trophies with a midfield of Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum for christ sakes.

 

[Sylar]

Will be interesting to see how this thread is see when the season ends and if people who are happy with the options say the same if the season doesn't go our way, or vice versa.

I think a big issue is scoring goals and we need our midfield to contribute as that's always been important for us when we were successful. Ideally Bruno gets a good number as does mount

 

[skc_18]

Agreed. Casemiro has surprised me with how good he is in the final third. Whereas playing out of defence isn't his strong suit and naturally his stamina will decline year by year, so having Amrabat taking the more defensive role will allow Casemiro to venture further forwards more regularly, whilst also giving us solidity.

I think ETH wants a very fluid system with players shifting into different positions and different moments, so the real question is how well the players can fit that system and work together, rather than the individual quality of the players. Liverpool won major trophies with a midfield of Henderson, Milner and Wijnaldum for christ sakes.

Yup Case passing is underrated. Also we have many sweepers in Martinez , Onana so having 2 defensive minded midfielders is not a bad idea. Only thing missing is that our attackers playing well we can challenge for trophies.

 

[JeffFromHK]

7/10
We are a FDJ or Modric (10 years younger) away from a great 9/10 midfield

 

[ThanksBoss26]

In theory we should have some decent options in there now. Certainly better than much of the last 10 years if not slightly longer (it wasn’t great towards the end of Fergie’s reign either).

 

[izec]

6/10. far off the best ones.

Our hope is Amrabat turns out better than he is, Mount gets dropped, Mainoo showing close to top potential and Casemiro has another year or two world class years in him. Currently, not too exciting though.

 

[ScholesyTheWise]

Think people expect too much from Amrabat.

We severely lack some creativity in the center of the field. Bruno doesn't count as he plays, or should play, further up top.
I'd kill for someone like Eriksen only much younger, who can defend to a decent level and doesn't look gassed up almost every 2nd half.

We badly need Casemiro to look like the player he was up until March last season. If he doesn't regain his form we are fecked big time.
Mount- what can you say really... not quite an attacker, not quite a winger, not quite a 6 or an 8. Not a bad footballer by any stretch. Just hard to fit in.

I really really hope ETH will move away from the idea of playing Mount and Bruno as two 8's , with only one DM to cover for them.
We'll get shafted by the best of teams, and even by "2nd tier teams", a tier we are very much a part of, besides our name.

 

[Dannn411]

Depends on how Ten Hag sets it up and how he uses Amrabat. If he plays 4-2-3-1 and plays Amrabat alongside Casemiro then that's a very balanced midfield finally. If he sticks with his preference of one DM and two 8s then it's going to be unbalanced.

 

[MadDogg]

Honestly, it's way too early to know.

If Casemiro is just having his usual slow start and soon gets back to his best, and if Amrabat works out well next to him (perhaps instead of him sometimes), and if Mount does gel and the different combos work, and if Mainoo is able to step up...we could have one of the best midfields in the league.

If Casemiro is physically declining, and if Amrabat doesn't work out at all, and if Mount continues being a square peg in a round hole, and if Mainoo does struggle with the step up...we could have the worst midfield in the top half, and even some of the bottom half might be ahead.

Most likely we'll end up somewhere in the middle of those two scenarios. We just have a lot of question marks in that area at the moment that could go either way.

 

[Oranges038]

Still no Gaitan or Sneijder, but it'll have to do until next year.

 

[Davicho]

Mctominay, Eriksen and Mount is a 6/10 second choice midfield.

If Amrabat suddenly becomes a FDJ level of player, the first choice midfield would be a 8 or 9/10.

So it all depends on Amrabat. Overall a 6 or 7 out of 10.

 

[CG1010]

It's good enough now for me to worry more about our attack. Either Hojlund needs his debut season to go with a bang or we need a top player either as ST or RW who can score 20 goals.

 

[Grande]

It looks like we're putting all our eggs in one basket. The general idea is good and i believe it's a move toward the right direction, albeit it feels like a rather bold decision at this stage of our development. I'd prefer a more holistic and harmonic rebuild to going all in one way. I can see why he's doing it, but if it backfires, it will do so spectacularly.

To me, it rather looks like putting our eggs in ten baskets. If we sold everybody bar bruno and Case, and bough De Jong for 200m, it would be putting them in one. Now we have many different options, if not one obvious.

Casemiro
Bruno Mount

Casemiro Amrabat
Bruno

Amrabat Eriksen
Bruno

Amrabat
Bruno Mount

McTominay Amrabat
Bruno

With injuries/resting players:
Mainoo
VdBeek Mount

Gore Amrabat
Van de Beek

Casemiro McTominay
Van de Beek

Amrabat Mejbri
Mount

etc etc


We have maybe three midfielders too many, but at least a lot of different options that could gel differently and solve different tactical problems

 

[Grande]

Its less of a Chef’s knife or a Bowie knife, and more of a Swiss army knife.

 

[theklr]

Helluva lot better than before summer, thats for sure. And McT I can see gets used as a sub in his natural role now, hopefully he can contribute abit there

 

[Murder on Zidane's Floor]

So long as we play two in midfield and one at the #10 spot in a 4231 then we will be fine.

A 4141 or 433 with two #10s will probably have us finishing 7th

 

[BillJonesUK]

We realistically have 6 options: Amrabat, Bruno, Casemiro, Eriksen, McTominay, Mount, I wouldn't count on the others too much this season, they are either too young or VDB.
I would choose this as our starting midfield(without seeing too much of the newcomer):

Casemiro-Amrabat
Bruno

with the others playing a role in different scenarios or change of form.

In terms of numbers we are more than ok, in terms of quality I'd say a 6.5/10.

If Mainoo continues to improve he’ll be a very good player, Casemiro, Bruno are top players Eriksen. Is class even if his legs aren’t what they were and we will have to wait on Mount but I think he’ll fit in well given time. Amrabat loo

I'm going to pretend Van de Beek doesn't exist because that's essentially how he plays and how regularly he plays.

The positives:

We have a world class defensive midfielder in Casemiro, and I think we have offered him some much needed support in Amrabat. This allows much more flexibility. We can shore up the midfield with both, we can potentially rest Casemiro more often (but must be careful that Amrabat can provide defensive solidity in some games)

Amrabat seems a really good progressive and consistent passer and in a similar vein Eriksen has a decent amount to offer if not overburdened.

Bruno is a world class player and gives a genuine X factor.

Mainoo could break through and looks very talented and this is important given the age profiles we see among some of our best midfielders. Fingers crossed.

The negatives:

Do we lack some mobility that will be exposed with the likes of Bruno, Mount high up the pitch at times? I think this is possible with an axis of Eriksen, Casemiro and Amrabat. It looks a bit trundley.

Do we give the ball away too frequently with the types we have?

What do we do with Mason Mount? I'm a bit baffled by how we're supposed to use him and as a result why he was a priority signing.

Scott McTominay is not great so I wouldn't rely on him for depth too often, but it's okay I suppose, no real issue with him around the squad.

Mason Mount has only played a few games with a midfield who weren’t on the ball and rusty. We can only hope he will come good. ETH hasn’t got much wrong so have faith.

Where have I said to sign FDJ I said a player like him. I know FDJ doesnt want to come.

 

[redshaw]

Casemiro Amrabat and Bruno could be our first choice and just what we've been needing.

Mount could swap in for Bruno to rest him and also play in a more attacking midfield in select games. Eriksen is very good on the ball and a good option off the bench.

McTom Amrabat might be a pretty good second option if Case is injured/suspended.

 

[BillJonesUK]

Who knows? No one hear knows if Amrabat is any good / will fit.

A month ago everyone decided Cas - Mount - Bruno had solved our problems. Funny that Mount has now quickly been relegated to the bench.

The key will be if Amrabat has a good passing range or not. He's energetic which is good, but so is Mount. Realistically what we really need in midfield is strong Casemiro cover (e.g. Lavia or Bissouma) and a high energy passing box to box like FDJ or even Szobzalai / McAlister. Fred got there at times but was too inconsistent. Just because Amrabat is a new name in the squad doesn't mean he'll be what we need - wait and see and then we can judge the midfield properly.

We will Only know about Amrabat after he’s been here for quite a few games he probably won’t be a world beater from game 1. You said funny how Mount has been relegated to the bench !! The reason him not playing could that be due to his Hamstring injury ? Can’t understand why people think players will walk in and be superb from day 1 without having time to settle in.

 

[stevoc]

I think when everyones is back from injuries we will have good midfield on paper:

AM: Bruno, Mount
CM/DM: Casemiro, Amrabat, Eriksen, Mainoo

Bruno
Amrabat Casemiro

Mount
Eriksen Mainoo​

This makes Scott feel sad.

 

[BillJonesUK]

This makes Scott feel sad.

Hopefully Mainoo will continue to impress because he looks like he’ll be top class but he’s injured and out until end September

 

[stevoc]

We've brought in a very good player in Mount to give us options to rotate Bruno and Eriksen. And we've replaced Fred with someone who can pass but is also capable of filling in for Casemiro. And with Mainoo emerging as a potential squad player is a bonus. All in all we're in better shape than we were last season.

 

[Paul778]

This makes Scott feel sad.

Noone can find Scott though. He's hiding behind our opponents forwards

 

[Drizzle]

Midfield is still too slow and immobile, and still lacks the world class options some of our competitors have. But our squad options mesh together better than last season so I'm hoping we'll collapse less often if injuries or form cause issues.

I'm not convinced Amrabat is going to be an elite premier league midfielder. I suspect he'll be decent rotation, and slightly more suited to what we need than Fred. So he gives us flexibility and resilience, but he's not going to raise our ceiling much, even if he does end up being a regular starter. I worry that he's there basically to manage Case's decline.

I'm more bullish on Mount than most. He'll be the flexible option that can fit in at 8, 10 or wing and will always give energy and a decent level of technique. Even in his underwhelming first two games you can see he's a good presser and a quick thinker on the ball.

Ultimately though we need a Rice, Enzo, Bellingham level of player at 8. I daren't hope that Mainoo is the real deal, so we're still going to have to go into the market next year.

 

[Infra-red]

We need Amrabat and Mount to contribute more than the players they have effectively replaced (Fred and Sabitzer). The jury is still out on both players and our midfield options are clearly a step down in quality from City, Chelsea, or the best in Europe, but I'm hopeful that EtH can at least form a cohesive unit out of what we have, which would be an improvement on recent seasons.

 

[stevoc]

Noone can find Scott though. He's hiding behind our opponents forwards

That makes us all feel sad.

 

[ArbeitervonWien]

You can only really judge after a couple of months. But I got a strong feeling it's been a good window. I'm confident that we've sorted the GK-position for years and the midfield for now with two good additions.

I'd have hoped for an understudy for Varane, but Lindelof is also fine for now. I also wanted another experienced striker, but I can hardly imagine that Hojlund alone isn't at least an upgrade on Weghorst/Ronaldo.

We got rid of some of the players that were holding us back. I don't mind having McTomminay in the squad, but Maguire, Martial, VdB and Bailly ideally should have left.

It's not the kind of window that will put us in reach of City, but I believe it's a step in the right direction. We will be a significantly better team than last year.

I'd give it a cautious 6/10

 

[Leftback99]

Inferior to our rivals unless Amrabat is any good.

 

[Cassidy]

So long as we play two in midfield and one at the #10 spot in a 4231 then we will be fine.

A 4141 or 433 with two #10s will probably have us finishing 7th

Everyone missing a trick with Casemiro playing as a box to box 8 in the 4141 or 433. He didnt always play as the deepest midfielder at Madrid

 

[RedRonaldo]

On paper its 8/10, but in actual probably 6/10

We just don't seem finding the right balance there, but hopefully with Amrabat signing and Mainoo coming back from injury, we could have something to work on.

On positive note:

- Casemiro and Bruno are worldclass
- Mount is capable of being key midfielder for top 4 club
- Amrabat and Eriksen passing is top class
- Mainoo is one of top young talent at the club has ever produced in recent years

Being negative:

- Bruno is wasteful in possession and hopeless if we want to play possession football with him
- Casemiro is ageing and start showing signs of losing his legs
- Mount and Bruno double 8 partnership never works, this pair will isolate Casemiro in DM and our midfield may get totally outplayed
- Eriksen is losing his legs and can't play beyond 70 mins, while Amrabat may need time to adapt in PL
- Mainoo is only 18, and he is injured