Manchester United need Miralem Pjanic to solve their midfield woes

Manchester Unitedhave been crying out for a creative midfielder, with Wayne Rooney being forced to drop deeper in order to create chances for the team. His injury has highlighted the lack of creativity in United’s midfield, and Bosnian international Miralem Pjanic has been linked with a move to Old Trafford this January to address this very issue. Here are three reasons why United should break the bank on the Roma star.

Creativity

Pjanic is the mixture of a central midfielder and an attacking midfielder, equally capable of playing either role. This versatility coupled with his great vision will be the ideal foil for United’s other midfield anchors. He created 56 chances in 27 appearances last season, including five assists, while he looks set to beat his tally from last season having created 42 chances in 19 appearances so far this season including four assists.

Pjanic prefers to play short passes, as attested by his average pass length of 17m last season and 16m so far this campaign. That being said, he has the capability of playing long balls also, having successfully completed 64 long balls this season with an accuracy of 84%, compared to his overall passing accuracy of 88%. He also has the ability to play defense-splitting through balls, having completed 5 of the 7 through balls he has attempted, while he did so successfully on 21 occasions last season with an impressive 52.4% accuracy.

Goals from midfield

Pjanic loves breaking forward from midfield, and often gets into dangerous positions in and around the opposition penalty box. United’s midfield has been missing that kind of drive- Anderson is the only one capable of providing that kind of dynamism, but his career has hit a road block in recent seasons. Anderson’s passing has let him down and he has consistently failed to pick out the right ball. Pjanic would combine the drive of Anderson with the passing ability of Michael Carrick.

Pjanic is not afraid of taking on opponents, and has attempted 61 take-ons this season, i.e. an average of 3.2 take-ons per appearance, with an outstanding 59% success rate. To top it all off, he has the ability to hit the target from outside the box, something that has been missing since Paul Scholes retired. In fact two of his three league goals this season have been shots from outside the box into the top corner. So far this season, he averages 1.5 shots per game with an accuracy of 38%, and his arrival would add a credible goal threat to United’s midfield.

Willingness to track back

Despite all the numbers attesting to his influence in opposition half, Pjanic does do his fair share of defensive duties. He is willing to put in a shift and press the opponents when his side doesn’t have the ball. This season, he has averaged 1.8 defensive actions per game, which is incredible for an attacking midfielder. He has made 8 clearances and 1 block to go with 26 interceptions; that’s 1.4 interceptions per game.

Even though tackling is not his strong suit, he has attempted an average of 3.2 tackles per game this season, albeit with a mixed success rate of 54%. However, it is the work ethic in the middle of the park that will impress David Moyes the most. With him in the side, United are less likely to be outnumbered in the middle of the park, something which has been a problem for them this season, due to his readiness to press high up the pitch.