Manchester United announced the £40m capture of Nemanja Matic from Chelsea on Monday.
It’s the Red Devils’ third signing of the summer following the arrivals of Romelu Lukaku and Victor Lindelof.
Jose Mourinho had identified four targets at the start of the summer but says he’s ‘willing’ to accept three because of the difficulty of the transfer market.
The 54-year-old wanted his signings in place before pre-season and, though Matic doesn’t excite fans in the way perhaps Lukaku does, his arrival could be crucial at Old Trafford this term.
Here’s three ways the Red Devils could line up with Matic at the club.
4-3-3 with Pogba pushed forward
United spent a world record £89m on Paul Pogba and, while he may have impressed in periods last term, the Frenchman needs to kick on this term.
The former Juventus man started the season in a midfield two with Marouane Fellaini but was then pushed forward in a midfield three alongside Ander Herrera and Michael Carrick.
Pogba was supported by two conservative midfielders at Juventus and produced his best football when he was allowed the freedom to roam forward.
While he has the physical attributes to defend, his ability is wasted by sitting too deep and he can become United’s main man next season without Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Wayne Rooney.
Part of the reason that Pogba was deployed so deep was because Mourinho didn’t trust any of his current midfielders to occupy the role by themselves.
Herrera had a fine season at Old Trafford but he’s at his best when he’s playing box-to-box and does not sniff danger in the same way Matic does.
The Serbian has the defensive discipline to allow Pogba and Herrera to push forward and this could allow for United to play a more attacking brand of football at home.
4-2-3-1 with Herrera dropped
Mourinho switched regularly between formations last season and he’ll be searching for a cure to United’s horrid home form.
The Red Devils drew 11 matches at home and this ultimately cost them a place in the top four, as well as a title challenge.
United struggled in particular against the weaker sides in the league and one option Mourinho has is to deploy Matic alongside Pogba in a two-man midfield.
While Pogba is better in an advanced position, he has the passing range to unlock defences and this formation would allow Mourinho to field an exciting front four of Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Herrera deserves in no way to be dropped for his performances last term but Matic’s greater positional sense would benefit the club in home games.
Three at the back
United switched to three at the back at times towards the end of last season and Mourinho’s continued to experiment with the formation in pre-season.
The formation was used to great effect against Chelsea in a 2-0 win in April – Mourinho’s stand-out win since his move to the club.
The system would allow Mourinho to pick Matic, Herrera and Pogba but keep a good defensive shape with wing-backs in Valencia and Jesse Lingard.
Crucially, it would allow United to play Rashford and Lukaku together in a front two – something that the club have been trying to figure out since the Belgian’s transfer to the club.
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