Axel Witsel would be the ideal replacement for Nemanja Matic at Man United
According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United have reignited their interest in Belgian midfielder Axel Witsel and Jose Mourinho was there in person to keep tabs on the 29-year-old in Belgium’s UEFA Nations League clash against Iceland.
Witsel was a target for United in the summer but the Red Devils ended up signing Fred from Shakhtar Donetsk for £50 million. (h/t Daily Mail)
However, the Brazilian has fallen out of favour under Jose Mourinho after a series of unimpressive displays and the Portuguese tactician has now turned his attention towards Witsel to shore up his midfield.
Witsel has been in fine form for Borussia Dortmund this season, helping his team move four points clear at the top in the Bundesliga standings and nine ahead of champions Bayern Munich.
Essentially a central midfielder by trade, Witsel has been used in defensive and attacking roles over the course of his illustrious career at Benfica, Zenit St. Petersburg, Tianjin Quanjian and Dortmund. Blessed with a sound technique for a central midfielder, the Belgian is comfortable in possession and can carry the ball forward with energy and purpose.
However, his most impressive attribute is his passing and ball distribution in the midfield. Witsel is capable of operating in central midfield as the governor-general of the team, dictating the tempo of the game with his flawless passing and immaculate distribution and changes the point of the attack with accurate cross-field balls and diagonals.
In fact, he has averaged 67.9 passes per game with an accuracy percentage of 92.9 in the Bundesliga this term, figures which show that he is capable of operating as the pivot of the midfield.
To add to his passing and distribution, Witsel is known for his game-reading ability and positional play. He is the sort of player who does not hesitate to stick his foot out to halt the opposition’s progress and does the donkey’s work in the midfield. In other words, he excels with his ability to win possession back and cuts out the attacks with interceptions and tackles.
Witsel often plays the ball off the ground, using his vision to spot the runs of his teammates up front with precise long-balls. Furthermore, he is a player who can run tirelessly for hours without running out of steam.
To put things into perspective, United should make a move for him to replace Nemanja Matic. The Serb has largely underwhelmed for the Red Devils this season in his role as a shield for the rearguard and has looked way off the pace, just a shadow of the player that he was in his Chelsea days.
Matic seems to have lost his mobility as a central midfielder and has been poor with his work-rate. The 30-year-old has been rather statuesque in front of the back four, offering little or no resistance to keep the opposition at bay. Furthermore, he has lost those reflexes and his positional sense in the midfield this season should definitely come under scrutiny.
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Playing as a shield for the rearguard, Matic has often found himself in a position deeper than the centre-backs, which, in turn, has hampered United’s build-up play in the midfield.
Hence, a move for Witsel certainly makes a lot of sense for United at the moment. Going by the kind of form that he has shown in the Bundesliga, Dortmund will not let him depart for a measly amount and United will need to break the bank to sign him.
However, he ticks all the boxes to be an ideal replacement for Matic and United should follow-up their interest in January.
