With Manchester United at the center of it all, this summer feels like perhaps the biggest summer of transfers among the Premier League elite in a decade.
While Michael Carrick has been rewarded for his impressive work with a permanent deal, changes are also occurring elsewhere, with Enzo Maresca, Andoni Iraola and Xabi Alonso taking up posts at Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea respectively.
There hasn’t been a managerial shake-up like this since the summer of 2016, when Josep Guardiola, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho were all appointed, with the latter belatedly taking the job at Old Trafford.
That summer, Mourinho and co brought Paul Pogba back to Manchester in a club-record £89m deal, and United were once again in the market for at least one statement: a midfield addition for the first time in a decade.
Vibel leads Manchester United’s £87m midfield target
Manuel Ugarte’s injury during his World Cup appearance could further complicate things, but Ederson’s arrival is expected to be followed by at least one new midfield signing this summer.
Elliott Anderson is set to join Manchester City in an eye-popping £116m deal, with all eyes on West Ham United’s Matheus Fernandes, one of a number of Portuguese players on the Premier League agenda.
The problem is that Tottenham Hotspur are also on the list, and it remains to be seen whether United will come up with the necessary funds to sign the 21-year-old.
However, there are alternative options, with Sky Sports Germany reporting that Christopher Wibel is leading the club’s pursuit of German star Felix Nmeka.
According to reports, Vibel is in regular contact with the 25-year-old’s agent, with Manchester and Liverpool potentially keen to make a move for him.
SportWitness reports that Borussia Dortmund are not keen on selling their midfield star, with the deal expected to cost more than €100m (about £87m).
Why Nmeka could become Manchester United’s other Pogba
It’s hard to look back on United’s handling of Pogba as good business. The club paid a record fee for a player who left on a free transfer just four years ago, before leaving Manchester again on a free transfer in 2022.
Although he has been regularly linked with an exit during his time at the club, the World Cup-winning Frenchman has failed to reach the heights expected during his six years at the club, and was arguably at his best in 2018/19 after Mourinho left the club midway through the season.
A divisive and sometimes infuriating talent, Pogba’s genius was at its peak when he provided four assists in the opening game of the 2021/22 season against Leeds United.
Pogba – Manchester United PL record | ||
|---|---|---|
season | game | Goal (assist) |
21/22 | 20 | 1 (9) |
20/21 | 26 | 3 (5) |
19/20 | 16 | 1 (4) |
18/19 | 35 | 13 (9) |
17/18 | 27 | 6(10) |
16/17 | 30 | 5(4) |
11/12 | 3 | 0 (0) |
total | 157 | 29(41) |
He’s a powerful, monster midfielder who can dominate any opponent when he gets his groove on, and I have to say there were certainly similarities with the 6ft 3in Nmeka.
Like Pogba, the German had already spent time in Manchester before being sold to Wolfsburg in the summer of 2021, after spending time in City’s youth hierarchy.
Currently at Dortmund, he has recently reached a new level and has been tipped by national team manager Julian Nagelsmann to be “the best player in the world” in his position.
Much like Pogba in 2018, Nmeka shone on the World Cup stage, opening with a superb curling performance in Germany’s opening group game against Curaçao.
The final group game against Ecuador was an even tougher test, but in his last three games the £87m star has one goal and one assist, averaging five tackles and an interception per game.
He certainly has Pogba’s physicality to his game and is no slouch in possession, averaging an impressive 91% passing accuracy from his midfield position so far.
One area of concern may be how easily he can be taken down from behind, having already been dribbled over 2.3 times per game at the World Cup.
For comparison, Casemiro made 1.6 dribbles per game in the Premier League last season, while Pogba recorded 1.1 dribbles per game in his final season in Manchester.
That might suggest Nmeka needs someone to sit next to him, but if he can play his best role as a roaming number eight with the right partner, United could be on the winning side.
In fact, Pogba was often problematic as he was often mistakenly placed as a number six, even though he did his best work when given more freedom, such as when alongside N’Golo Kante in his homeland.
Nmeka may need players and systems around him, but bringing him back to Manchester could be something of a coup for the Red Devils.
INEOS, Manchester United set to sign £80m upgrades for Anderson and Fernandes
Manchester United could have even more talent than Elliott Anderson and Matheus Fernandes.
