Forgetting lack of European football and money problems aside. You've been asked to create a midfield trio like peak Casemiro, Kroos, Modric or iniesta, Xavi, Busqutes.
Only limitation is they have to be 24 years old or younger. A midfield three to dominate for years. Also semi realistic transfers that Utd could pull off who aren't first team players at the giant European clubs already.
Ps..forget amorim formation for this, it's a 3 for a 433.
It is impossible to do so in one go, now more than ever. These things cannot be forced or done on a whim or you end up wasting money on “fool's gold”.
Players with the appropriate ingredients (press-resistance and expertise on the half-turn, a real sense of purpose and intensity in their play, sumptuous technique allied with good field-vision, requisite application levels on the off the pitch et cetera) have to be there for you to sign them.
- Real Madrid signed Modrić in 2012, Kroos in 2014 and activated Casemiro's buyback clause in 2015.
- At Barcelona, Xavi became a first team player in 1998, Iniesta was a peripheral figure until 2004 and Busquets became a first team player in 2008.
- Paris SG double-dipped for Vitinha and Ruiz in 2022 but had to wait till 2024 for Neves.
- Manchester City signed De Bruyne in 2015, Gündogan in 2016, Bernardo in 2017 and Rodri in 2019.
Someone like Neves, on his own, is an absolute anomaly, with regard to how consequential he is and how much he can contribute in so many different segments.
https://datamb.football/midfielders/
Recruiting the components of a high-caliber midfield can be be a multi-year year project, even if the scouting processes are right and the players in question are appropriately developed. And simply recruiting the components is not enough even if they are functionally symbiotic and have a bit of chemistry, you need a high-caliber coach, à la Pep Guardiola or Luis Enrique, to fine-tune them, put them in roles that accentuate their strengths and amplify the collective effect.
Given a reasonable 3 year time-frame to
turn things around, I would probably sign Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille this very summer. Then try to secure Max Dowman from Arsenal by any means necessary, to be repurposed as an interior No. 10 (he isn't eligible for a professional contract until his 17th birthday at the end of 2026). These players have the skillset to reach the very top, in due time. And then be on the look-out for a metronomic, press-resitant No. 6 or No. 8. Instinctively feel Marc Bernal is the one but he signed a contract with Barcelona till 2030 and has no reason to leave Pedri's side when they could constitute a midfield for the ages, with Barcelona as well as with Spain. Maybe Rafael Quintas from Benfica, instead?
Anton Stach at Hoffenheim did really well this season but he's a bit older.