Is passmaster Jorginho the perfect Carrick successor at Manchester United?
As Michael Carrick enters the death throes of his playing career, Manchester United begin the arduous task of replacing their midfield passmaster. The 36-year-old’s time as footballer draws to a close at the end of the season as he gears up for a coaching role at Old Trafford, yet with his retirement and Marouane Fellaini’s potential summer exit, United run the risk of being caught short in the middle of the park.
That’s not to say United haven’t acted accordingly to bolster their midfield options. Reports over the weekend suggest the Premier League outfit have held talks with Jorginho’s agent over a potential summer switch and it’s impossible to be shocked at their rumoured interest. The Napoli star is the key cog on the Partenopei’s bid to secure Serie A glory, with the Italy international able to set the tempo in games with relative ease.
Jorginho is averaging more passes per game (94.7) than any player in Serie A this season to reflect a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘passing’, that unsurprisingly deemed ‘very strong’. Julian Weigl is another supposed target for United, while Fabinho will likely crop up on the club’s radar once more, but Jorginho seems the ideal like-for-like replacement for Carrick.
While not a physically imposing holding midfielder in the form of Nemanja Matic, Jorginho is still happy to do all he can to win the ball for his side. Only Lucas Torreira (111) and Kalidou Koulibaly (100) have won possession in the midfield third more times than Jorginho (94) in Serie A this season. Returns of two tackles and 1.5 interceptions per game shows the 26-year-old is prepared to put himself about in order to deny opponents and limit their goalscoring opportunities.
Furthermore, only Koulibaly (790) has made more forward passes than Jorginho (620) in Italy’s top tier this term. He doesn’t simply recycle possession for the sake of it, but uses his positional awareness to manoeuvre into space, provide an option and strive to set Napoli on the front foot. This probing approach from deep would be a huge benefit for United, whose possession return (53.0%) and pass success rate (82.7%) is the lowest in the Premier League’s top-six this season at the time of writing.
As a side that sits deep and looks to spring rapid counter attacks, highlighted by a WhoScored strength of ‘counter attacks’, a player of Jorginho’s expertise would be hugely beneficial for United. Napoli would be reluctant to lose such a key man, yet United are aware they need a controller in midfield once Carrick calls time on his career later this year, even if a heart complaint has restricted him to just two competitive appearances this season.
A midfielder to sit to dictate the play would allow those ahead of him to flourish under Jose Mourinho and while Weigl is a younger option, Jorginho would undoubtedly be the better fit for United.
