Manchester United will make major changes to their midfield in the coming months.
It was announced earlier this week that Casemiro would leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in the summer, the first of several potential changes for the Red Devils.
The Mail has already reported that there could be a number of new additions to United’s midfield, suggesting up to four could join the club. Indeed, Carlos Baleva and Elliott Anderson have been named as INEOS’ main targets alongside Koby Mainu, who looks set to stay on despite Ruben Amorim’s departure.
Bruno Fernandes’ future will be interesting, but United may also be looking at his replacement.
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United captain Fernandes remains a target for the Saudi Arabian club after coming close to leaving the club last summer. Three clubs are said to be interested in signing him this summer.
It would be a blow for United, but INEOS may soon have the perfect replacement.
A report in Spain has named Chelsea and England star Cole Palmer as a “top target” and United are said to be “prepared to make an unprecedented financial effort” to sign him.
Indeed, it’s no surprise that this isn’t a cheap deal. Chelsea are expected to ask for more than £104m to sign him, which would be United’s highest fee in the club’s history and surpass the £89m they paid for Paul Pogba in 2016.
The Blues star “feels a deep yearning for his homeland and would like to return to the north of England”. United, of course, check that box.
What Palmer brings to United
It may sound obvious, but Palmer will give United’s attack a huge boost. Although he has struggled with injuries this season, he is one of the best players in the Premier League and last season was described by Jamie Carragher as a “world class” operator.
This term has been quite a stop-start for the England international. He made just 13 appearances in all competitions, scoring just five goals.
He missed 17 games all season due to injury and hasn’t been able to get into a rhythm.
But don’t doubt his qualifications in the slightest. The Wythenshawe-born star has already made 110 appearances for the West Londoner, scoring 48 goals and providing 29 assists for Chelsea.
In his first Premier League season with the club, he scored 33 goals and provided an assist in as many games.
If United are to lose Fernandes, they will need someone of Palmer’s quality to replace him.
The Portuguese star, who momentarily forgot his leadership skills, has an extraordinary record of 103 goals and 96 assists in 311 appearances for the Old Trafford club.
Perhaps it’s proof for Palmer that his best season, the 2023/24 season, is actually higher than Fernandes’ best season in terms of goals and assists.
The Portugal international scored 29 goals and provided an assist in the 2020/21 Premier League. He has consistently maintained the level he showed in his first season, when he scored 20 goals and provided an assist in 22 games across all competitions.
In fact, looking at the stats from their respective best seasons shows that Palmer could be the perfect successor to Fernandes.
For example, in 2023/24 the English player averaged 1.2 goals and assists and created 2.3 chances per 90 minutes, while in 2020/21 United’s captain averaged one goal and assist per game and created 2.7 chances.
Palmer vs Fernandes – Best PL season | ||
|---|---|---|
State (per 90) | Palmer 23/24 | Fernandes 20/21 |
goals and assists | 1.2 | 1 |
An opportunity has arisen | 2.3 | 2.7 |
Take-up completed | 1.8 | 0.7 |
Won a ground duel | 3.5 | 3.8 |
touch the offensive box | 4.9 | 3.6 |
Squawka statistics | ||
Whenever the time comes, it will be difficult to replace Fernandes. But in signing Palmer, they undoubtedly found someone similar to their talismanic number 8. Statistics certainly support that theory.
£104 million is a huge sum, but it’s definitely worth it to maintain the level of quality in the No. 10 role we’ve seen since Fernandes’ debut.
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