TRANSFER STORY
According to The Sun, Jose Mourinho wants Manchester United to sign Roma midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini in the winter transfer window after failing to land him in this summer. He was Mourinho’s one of the many prime targets who failed to complete a move in this window which has escalated the tensions between the manager and the board.
With Mourinho in his infamous “third season”, it will be interesting to see whether he stays till the January or not but if he does, he’ll expect the United board to back him up with some new signings.
WHAT HE’LL ADD TO MANCHESTER UNITED
Pellegrini is a typical box-to-box midfielder who will add quality to both the ends of the field for United. The Italian midfielder is young but is coveted by many big clubs around Europe. He is not a great dribbler of the ball but likes to surge forward to score goals. He likes to play through balls to bring wingers into the game and backs himself to score from distance.
With the uncertainties around the future of Paul Pogba, Pellegrini could be a strong replacement for the Frenchman. With the distribution abilities of Fred and solidarity offered by Nemanja Matic, Mourinho could have his midfield problems sorted. His versatility can be a great factor as he can play in both attacking and defensive midfield.
United will be required to sell a midfielder before landing him up. With Herrera, Fellaini and Pereira already on the bench, adding Pellegrini to the mix won’t be a good idea. Pereira has done enough to earn a chance in the United squad and Fellaini has just signed a contract extension. Mourinho has to be sure whether he requires the services of the Italian or not because wasting such a good talent on the bench won’t do any good to both the parties.
LORENZO PELLEGRINI – STATS
Pellegrini appeared 24 times in the Italian Serie A last season. He also made 7 appearances in the Champions League and helped them to reach the semi-final. The 22-year old midfielder scored three goals and registered three assists in the league last season. He made 640 passes with an accuracy of 83%.
In his two seasons with Sassuolo, he scored ten goals and registered seven assists. He did not feature in the Seria A opener for Roma in 0-1 win against Torino as De Rossi, Kevin Strootman and Javier Pastore were favoured ahead of him. In 2018, he has played in three International Champions cup matches but has failed to score a single goal.
(Stats – Whoscored.com)
