With the signing of Nemanja Matic,
Manchester United will most likely look to use a 4-3-3 formation with
Matic, Paul Pogba, and Ander Herrera as the three central midfielders.
With Lukaku up top, that leaves two spots on the wing open, and many
players going for those spots. These players include Marcus Rashford,
Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Juan Mata.
On the left-wing, United fans are likely
to see Rashford or Martial. Both put in very impressive performances
this year, and they are two of the top young talents in football. This
means the spot on the right-wing could go to either Lingard, Mkhitaryan,
or Mata. Sadly for Mata, he could be at the bottom of this order in the
mind of Mourinho.
After a rough start to his United career
under Mourinho, Mkhitaryan began to put in more convincing performances
and gain regular game time. Between his mesmerising runs with the ball
and excellent vision, he became a staple in Mourinho’s team. Mkhitaryan
contributed with six goals in the Europa League, a large reason for
United reaching the final and winning the competition. Jesse Lingard is
another player who Mourinho regularly called upon last season. Although
his statistics are not too impressive, Lingard always puts in a
performance where he works hard for the team and gives a lot of energy
to the side. Also, Lingard has shown over the past few seasons a flair
for the dramatic, with goals in the FA Cup final two seasons ago, and
the League Cup final and Community Shield this season. These were all
trophies United lifted, in no small part thanks to Lingard.
This leaves Juan Mata in a peculiar
position. He is the clubs active leading scorer and possesses
game changing ability. His creativity and ability to pitch in with a
goal in important games are reasons why he should be in the regular
starting eleven. But then where does that leave Mkhitaryan? Against
teams who United are going to dominate possession, they good switch to a
4-2-3-1 with both Mkhitaryan and Mata as attacking midfielders. But,
against bigger teams, Mata could be reduced to playing as an impact sub.
This would be incredibly disappointing for Mata, who can still be
classified as one of the best creators in the Premier League.
Early in the season is going to be big
for Mata, as his performances could either help him keep Mkhitaryan and
Lingard out of the side and lock down a spot in the starting XI, or open
the door for Mkhitaryan to make the right-wing spot his.
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