Say what you want about the Manchester United midfield, but there is still quality floating about in the middle of Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad. Anderson may not have had the biggest impact since joining the club back in 2007, and Tom Cleverley may not have hit the dizzy heights many were expecting, but with one of the greatest central midfielders of his generation, Paul Scholes is still going strong. However, his enchanting performances cannot last forever, so here is a list of three possible replacements.
Marco Veratti – Paris Saint-Germain
The young Italian has been a revelation this season at Parc des Princes and is a hugely exciting prospect for the future. Still only 20 years of age, Veratti has already drawn comparisons to Scholes as a result of his eye for a pass, his poor timing in a tackle and evident lack of pace. With the ball at his feet the PSG man is an alluring watch, picking out teammates with ease no matter what their position on the field may be.
Veratti has played 26 times in Ligue 1 this season, creating 19 chances, boasting a pass susccess of 89%, and winning 62% of his duels.
Ilkay Gundagon – Borussia Dortmund
Much has been made of the 22-year-old Dortmund midfielder because of his creativeness and ability on the ball. He has been a real driving force in the Black and Yellows’ run in this season’s Champions League and has three goals in the Bundesliga to boot. He is expected to have a huge future with BVB although with their talented squad slowly being dismantled with the departures of Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski (probably), a big money offer could be enough to tempt the young Germany international to Old Trafford.
Thiago Alcantara – Barcelona
The 22-year-old has been hailed as one of the best young passers on the European stage, as you’d expect from someone who has grown up learning their trade at Barcelona, but it has now come to a stage in his career that a guarantueed first team spot is needed to fulfil his potential. This is something he isn’t going to get at Camp Nou and a year with Paul Scholes at Manchester United before the ginger midfielder retires could be the perfect scenario to enrich himself with what his role entails.
In Thiago’s 24 appearances this season, he has scored two goals, created 19 chances and has a pass success of 92%.