Matuidi to Man United | What could he bring?

On a day when Manchester United kept their fans busy and excited ahead of the new campaign by officially unveiling Jose Mourinho as their new manager, reports have emerged stating PSG’s Blaise Matuidi’s alleged trip to England to conclude a deal that would see him make a shock move to Manchester United with a medical scheduled in France. It has certainly come out of the blue as United, if the news is true, could have already made their fourth signing – the one that would finally let Mourinho “breathe” according to his own words in the first press conference as Manchester United boss.

The 29-year old has played a key role for Paris Saint Germain in midfield in what was another successful 2015/16 season winning the Ligue 1 title for the fourth time in succession. He made 31 appearances in the league, 56 across all competitions scoring 8 goals and assisting 9 – and is arguably in the prime years of his career. With United lacking that much needed steel in the midfield despite the recent investment, especially in the middle of the park, after signing Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera and Schneiderlin for more than a combined fee of £70m. So will Manchester United get fourth time lucky?

In terms of being productive and contribution to goals, Matuidi is clearly an improvement on what United boast in central midfield. Despite the well documented fact that the French league is well below its English counterpart in terms of overall quality and competitiveness, one could only beat what’s in front of them and Matuidi has had a good season, if not stellar, for PSG in 2015/16 when it comes to scoring and creating goals for his side. A high rate of pass completion averaging close to 32 forward passes per game will also be a welcome change for United fans after two years of predictable and risk-free lateral movement of the ball under their previous manager. 

Defensively though, Matuidi has been far from his own best. He’s managed to win more tackles per game than the rest of the Man United midfielders ho he could be playing alongside, but made less interceptions, won less percentage of aerial duels despite his towering physique and less percentage of his total duels per game than Fellaini and Herrera respectively. This suggests he’s becoming less mobile which can only be a hindrance in the Premier League and for United and particularly Mourinho that prefers a more mobile midfielder who could be dynamic as well as robust in his tackle and dispossession.

For the price that has been rumored, circa €25m, Matuidi is an astute signing. At 29-years of age, he will bring a wealth of experience, winning mentality and hunger to United – wanting to prove himself in the toughest league in the world under one of the best managers in the modern era for a club that is desperate, if anything, to get back to where they think they belong – in the upper echelons of English and European football.

But having said that, is Matuidi a typical Mourinho style blockbuster or rather, the box-office midfielder that will strike fear and a sense of unease in the opposition camp even before the ball is kicked? I highly doubt so. If there’s any position that Man United want to toughen up for years to come, they should go for the French midfielder that plays alongside Matuidi in the European championships. Only then can Mourinho “breathe” easy like he would want to before beginning a new era, to quote him here, “at the UK’s biggest football club”.