{"id":295607,"date":"2023-11-30T23:24:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=295607"},"modified":"2023-11-30T23:24:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-30T23:24:26","slug":"chris-sutton-man-united-need-a-proper-holding-midfielder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/soccer\/chris-sutton-man-united-need-a-proper-holding-midfielder\/","title":{"rendered":"CHRIS SUTTON: Man United need a proper holding midfielder"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Forget the calamity keeper, what Man United need is a proper holding midfielder to challenge the Premier League&#8217;s best<\/h1>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Andre Onana has received criticism for his performance in goal this season<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>But Man United need a proper holding midfielder to become a force once more<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Sir Jim Ratcliffe could be Erik ten Hag&#8217;s biggest threat &#8211; Listen to why on It&#8217;s All Kicking Off<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Arsenal have Declan Rice. Manchester City have Rodri. Tottenham have Yves Bissouma. Chelsea have Moises Caicedo. Liverpool have Alexis Mac Allister.<\/p>\n<p>Manchester United, meanwhile, have a defensive midfielder who I described as a \u00a370million panic signing last year, for which I was criticised.<\/p>\n<p>Casemiro performed well last campaign. Better than I expected of the Brazilian in his 30s. But he is now injured and when he does feature, he doesn\u2019t look like he\u2019s got the legs to keep up with the demand of this level.<\/p>\n<p>Not like Rice, or Rodri, or the other elite midfield men out there who can control proceedings. The decision to let Casemiro sign a long-term deal is looking more and more foolish because he is not the answer to the lack of protection being provided by the midfield.<\/p>\n<p>Goalkeeper Andre Onana needs all the protection he can get, too, given the way he has been flapping whenever anything flies his way.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78441693-12811505-image-m-27_1701380117447.jpg\" height=\"541\" width=\"306\"><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78441703-12811505-image-a-28_1701380126592.jpg\" height=\"541\" width=\"306\"><\/p>\n<p>Arsenal can rely on Declan Rice (left), while Man City have Rodri (right) in their midfield<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78441695-12811505-image-a-29_1701380220032.jpg\" height=\"423\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Chelsea can call upon \u00a3115m summer signing Moises Caicedo to strengthen their midfield<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78443151-12811505-image-a-30_1701380285412.jpg\" height=\"441\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Tottenham&#8217;s midfield enforcer Yves Bissouma has been a revelation under Ange Postecoglou<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78443231-12811505-image-a-31_1701380336468.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Casemiro did well last season, but has not made the same impact this term and is now injured<\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p>Kobbie Mainoo is an excellent prospect but he is only 18. As good as he was in that first Premier League start against Everton last weekend, he needs time to blossom.<\/p>\n<p>Mainoo\u2019s lack of experience may be why Erik ten Hag did not start him at Galatasaray in the Champions League on Wednesday. United led 2-0, then 3-1, but unprotected, they threw it away to draw 3-3.<\/p>\n<p>Bruno Fernandes tried to help out defensively, but he was the one who gave away the two free-kicks which led to goals from Hakim Ziyech.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78443287-12811505-image-m-33_1701380408816.jpg\" height=\"462\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Mail Sport columnist feels Man United need to bring in a proper holding midfielder<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78443291-12811505-image-m-35_1701380444837.jpg\" height=\"752\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Erik ten Hag has not managed to fix his midfield issues all season at Old Trafford<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/11\/30\/21\/78443369-12811505-image-a-36_1701380496431.jpg\" height=\"451\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>Kobbie Mainoo (right) is a bright prospect, but it would be wrong too expect too much from him too soon<\/p>\n<p>United need a specialist protector in midfield. Someone who can act as a barrier, particularly when they have a lead.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They have dropped eight points from winning positions in the Champions League this season, remember. That\u2019s more than any other team among Europe\u2019s elite.<\/p>\n<p>Mainoo may be the right man in time. But it would be asking too much too soon to expect that of him now, week in, week out.<\/p>\n<p>Onana\u2019s struggles will dominate discussions after that horror show in Istanbul. But defensive midfield is a problem which needs addressing sooner rather than later for United \u2014 perhaps in the January window if they want to move forwards.<\/p>\n<h3>IT&#8217;S ALL KICKING OFF!\u00a0<\/h3>\n<p><span><span>It&#8217;s All Kicking Off is an exciting new podcast from Mail Sport that promises a different take on Premier League football.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span>It is available on MailOnline, Mail+, YouTube, Apple Music and Spotify.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Your browser does not support iframes.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2017\/08\/02\/636x90_facebook_ad_sport.png\" width=\"636\" height=\"90\"><br \/>\nSource: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/sport\/football\/article-12811505\/Forget-calamity-keeper-Man-United-need-proper-holding-midfielder-challenge-Premier-Leagues-best.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Forget the calamity keeper, what Man United need is a proper holding midfielder to challenge the Premier League&#8217;s best Andre<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":295606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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