Manchester United lost 1-2 to Huddersfield this Saturday in a lackluster display. There are no excuses, as the team should have won but instead suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign.
The Red Devils now sit five points behind Manchester City on the title race, and even though the season is long, there are a few things that are becoming worrisome signs. Arguably the biggest one has been the play of the midfielders in the past two weeks.
Considering Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini are both out and Michael Carrick is injured as well, Mourinho has been forced to play with Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera on the CM role. Herrera does not look like the dominating playmaker he was last season. And even though Matic has been excellent, he didn’t have a good performance against Huddersfield. The team needs reinforcements, and the management is reportedly keen on adding at least one player during the January transfer window.
That player has a name, though. And he goes by the name of Carlos Soler.
Who Is Carlos Soler?
A 20-year-old playmaker currently playing for Valencia and the Spain U21 side, Soler has been one of the best midfielders in Spain during the current term. Several top sides are reportely keen on him, but United have been doing their due diligence behind the scenes in order to land him at Old Trafford. And recent reports have suggested The Red Devils are likely to offer around £30 million to bring the Valencia midfielder to Old Trafford during the January transfer window.
Signing him for that fee would be excellent, especially if we consider the market rates for young players over the past two years. Soler has a £75M buy-out clause, though Los Che will likely negotiate for a lower fee. But United have enough money to increase the bid if they need to.
It is uncertain to see where Soler would play, though. He profiles as an attacking-minded CM, but can play on a more advanced role. And if we consider he is only 20 years old, he has enough time to improve his skills. He is a very polished player as it is, though. It only takes a glimpse of his talent to see how good he really is.
That’s pure quality. United could certainly use a player like him.
We have to wait and see whether United will land him in January, next summer, or if they will land him at all. But the fact that they are scouting him and having talks is the best example of the management always trying to acquire young players looking towards the future.
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