Manchester United Ready To Go All Out For Italian Star: The Right Choice By Mourinho?

According to Corriere Dello Sport (via Football Italia), Manchester United are ready to go all out for the services of Lorenzo Pellegrini in January.

The AS Roma starlet has been identified as a top target for the Red Devils, with the club ready to double his salary in an attempt to lure the midfielder.

It has been claimed that Pellegrini has a  €30 million release clause in his current contract, although Roma are keen to remove the clause by offering him a lucrative contract extension.

As for United, they are more than willing to meet the price-tag but will that be a good move for the Premier League giants?

Lorenzo Pellegrini: Player profile

Pellegrini is a bright young midfielder, who generally operates as a number eight. But, the Italian is extremely versatile at the centre of the pitch, largely thanks to his youth level experience, when he was taught to play as a centre-back and later, a centre-forward.

His past experience of operating as a number nine helps him to read offensive situations quickly and thereby allowing him to be more precise in terms of passing the ball out in the final third.

One of Pellegrini’s biggest assets is his ability to create chances. He has produced more key passes than any other player in the squad this season, averaging a tally of 2.3 key passes per game.

However, what makes him such a sought-after talent is his technical prowess. Pellegrini is gifted with great vision and also has a delicate first touch, which hands him an advantage over the opposition.

The 22-year-old is excels at quick-interplay in the final third and averaging nearly 1.5 dribbles per game isn’t a bad reading at all for a central midfielder.

Should Manchester United go all out for Pellegrini?

Lorenzo Pellegrini is undoubtedly a talented midfielder, who can offer the creative flair in midfield. He is clearly an upgrade over Fred while he is much more agile than Juan Mata but at the same time, his ability to deal with pressure could arguably make him an upgrade over Ander Herrera.

Pellegrini can be deployed as a partnering midfielder alongside Paul Pogba in United’s 4-3-3 setup. However, his presence in midfield will restrict Pogba from being more expressive in the final third as the Italian lacks the defensive capabilities.

But, the former Sassuolo midfielder has impressed in the Serie A for the past couple of season, having already notched up over 85 appearances in the Italian top flight and for a fee of just  €30m, he could well turn out to be a bargain for the Red Devils.

Stat courtesy: Whoscored