Why Manchester United should be interested in this La Liga midfielder

Bengaluru, July 16: Reports in Spain claim that Spanish giants Real Betis are open to offers for their star defensive midfielder William Carvalho and the Portuguese international has emerged as a priority target of Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City.

The 28-year-old has always been a player very much in demand, especially in England, having been strongly linked with clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United in the past. Brendan Rodgers is believed to be a long admirer of the Portuguese international and wanted him at Liverpool when he was in charge of the Reds. Now that he is in charge at the King Power Stadium, Carvalho has again attracted interest from the East Midlands club.

However, there are also some contradictory reports claiming that the Foxes are not the favourites to sign the 28-year-old as they are well-stocked in defensive midfield already boasting players like Wilfred Ndidi, Nampalys Mendy and Hamza Choudhury in their ranks. And, there are little chances that Ndidi will be moving away from the club this summer which means Carvalho might not be a guaranteed started if he moves to the Midlands club.

This should come as good news for Manchester United who should be ideally interested in Carvalho. The Portuguese international is reportedly available for €25m only and would be a perfect signing for the Manchester United midfield.

Following the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have turned around a corner and have made a late charge for a top-four finish this season. Especially after the restart of Premier League football following lock-down, the Red Devils have looked like a much-improved side with Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes playing alongside each other.

It was a big challenge for Solskjaer to accommodate the two creative central midfield players in the team and let them play their natural game but thanks to Nemanja Matic, the job has been a lot easier for the manager. Pogba and Fernandes might be making the headlines on every matchday but Matic is equally important for the system and often gets unnoticed.

The Serbian defensive midfielder will turn 32 next month and has been fairly susceptible to injuries in recent years which is why Solskjaer must start looking for someone who is capable of filling in for the former Chelsea midfielder and possibly replacing him in the future. And, Carvalho is exactly the kind of player the Red Devils should be looking for and the fact that he is available on a reasonable fee, makes an even stronger case.

Carvalho resembles Matic in many ways and is disciplined enough to play as a number six behind Pogba and Fernandes. Fernandes is strong, intelligent and technically gifted and used to be one of the most sought after defensive midfielders in his earlier days. However, he probably stayed too long in Portugal at Sporting and therefore, his career never really reached the heights that were expected of him.

He also shares good chemistry with Bruno Fernandes both on and off the pitch having played together for Sporting and also for the Portuguese national team. At 6 ft 2 in, Carvalho is pretty strong aerially and is also a brilliant passer which is evident from his 88.1% passing accuracy this campaign.

The 28-year-old has made only 0.5 tackles and 1.2 fouls per game this season but that is more because of his excellent ability to read the game which is evident from his 0.8 interceptions per game. Despite being a number six, Carvalho is excellent on the ball and never shies away from contributing in the attack. He has made 0.7 key passes per game this campaign and has also averaged 1.5 dribbles per game.

Therefore, it is pretty evident that the Portuguese is much beyond a destroyer. He is more of a modern-day number six. Carvalho would be a major upgrade on the likes of Fred and Scott McTominay and could prove to be an integral part of the Manchester United side for the next five years or so. And, for the price he is available at, it would be an absolute no-brainer for Solskjaer.