da imperador bet: Talk of Manchester United’s transfer business inevitably is led by the rumblings of a new midfield maestro gracing the Old Trafford pitch.
da aposte e ganhe: The historic club have lacked energy, direction and purpose from the centre of the park since the days of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, with a number of replacements failing to make the grade.
Louis van Gaal has even experimented this season by utilising Wayne Rooney in the boiler room, but the United coach seems to have found a much more desirable balance in recent weeks.
The return of Michael Carrick has added direction and poise to the Red Devils’ midfield, but it has been another star that deserves credit for inspiring United to a number of important consecutive victories.
Ander Herrera’s time at the club has been full of ups and downs, with questions over whether the uncapped Spaniard had the ability to deal with rough and tumble of English football.
A number of unconvincing displays in his early days in Manchester have seemingly been overcome, with the former Athletic Bilbao man starting to show why United shelled out so much money to prize him away from the San Mames club.
Herrera’s technical ability has never been in doubt, with the Spanish star’s range of passing and coolness in possession evident.
However, his reading of the game and ability to bring much-needed energy to proceedings has been a real plus over the last month.
[ad_pod id=’ffc-video-small’ align=’left’]
The Spanish midfielder is akin to Scholes in his penchant for passing and moving, with his intelligent link-up play with compatriot Juan Mata a joy to behold in recent games.
Herrera has thrived with physical players such as Marouane Fellaini and Daley Blind alongside him, which has in turn allowed him to focus on getting possession of the ball and bringing United’s attackers into the game.
The 25-year-old played an inch-perfect pass to release Mata for United’s opening strike against Liverpool at Anfield, while his goals from the centre of the park have been a welcome addition for a United side with ambitions of challenging the top teams in the division.
In 12 starts this term Herrera has netted five goals, including two strikes in an impressive performance last time out in a 3-1 win over Aston Villa.
The sky is the limit for this mercurial midfielder, with Herrera seemingly winning Van Gaal over with recent performances.
Staying in the team will be critical for the 25-year-old to live up to his considerable potential, while he still has work to do to fully adjust to the more direct nature of the English game.
However, with a more physical player alongside him, Herrera is starting to look like the dynamic and creative central midfielder that United have missed in recent campaigns.
His style of play is not dissimilar to Scholes, and in the long run if he can continue his recent form the Spaniard has the ability to be a very important player in United’s desire to fire themselves back into silverware contention.
[ad_pod id=’ricco’ align=’center’]