Sir Jim Ratcliffe has picked Paul Scholes as the one player from Manchester United’s past who he would sign for the current team if he could.
The British billionaire, who gained ratification as the club’s new co-owner last month, has given a refreshingly candid interview with The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast on Spotify, covering a wide range of topics.
In the podcast, Ratcliffe touches on his ambitions for United’s new stadium, the indelible influence of Sir Alex Ferguson, the process INEOS will implement to try and close the gap to the club’s rivals, and much more.
One slightly more unusual question posed to Ratcliffe, however, was this fantasy transfer option. “If you could bring one in their prime into the team now?”, the interviewer asked, before revealing his own pick would be Roy Keane.
Given the fragility in the middle of the pitch which has been repeatedly exposed in Erik ten Hag’s side this season, as well as the underlying issues with attitude and professionalism which have plagued the Old Trafford dressing room for far longer, the indomitable former captain of the club is an astute choice.
Ratcliffe went in a different direction, however, replying almost instantaneously with “Paul Scholes”.
The INEOS owner explained his decision by revealing the former England international is the “type of player [United] are most missing” at present. He reasons that while neither Casemiro or Kobbie Mainoo are at Roy Keane’s level, they are “quite defensive midfielders.”
But it’s a midfielder in the style of Scholes which is sorely lacking from Ten Hag’s squad at the moment. “They don’t have a Paul Scholes or an Iniesta,” Ratcliffe concluded. It’s an interesting choice by the club’s new ruler for two reasons.
Firstly, it offers some justification as to United’s dogged pursuit of Frenkie De Jong two summers ago. The club spent the entire transfer window trying to convince the Dutch midfielder to reunite with Ten Hag at Old Trafford, even agreeing a deal with Barcelona, but ultimately failing to reach one with De Jong’s representatives.
While De Jong is not at the level of Scholes or Iniesta, he is cut from that cloth of technically gifted players who make the game tick for their sides. It’s this type of midfield controller Ratcliffe believes United lack most acutely, rather than the defensive general of Keane.
But this leads to the second interesting conclusion from Ratcliffe’s choice – his assessment of Mainoo.
Despite his tender years, the academy graduate is that exactly style of midfielder. He is technically superb, able to comfortable evade the opposition press, and play through midfield with a drop of the shoulder, a one-two or a well-timed through ball.
The fact Ten Hag has felt comfortable deploying Mainoo as the deepest midfielder at this season should not colour perceptions of the 18-year-old as a ‘defensive midfielder’; rather, it’s a reflection of his ability to effect the game at every level, from the build-up phase to the final third.
Mainoo is comfortable receiving the ball from Andre Onana with his back towards the opposition midfield. Equally, he is similarly adept at receiving the ball in the penalty area surrounded by defenders, as demonstrated by his superb winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers in February.
Put simply, the 18-year-old possesses a complete skillset for a midfielder.
United just have to be patient and wait for his natural progression to bring him to the point that he makes Keane the obvious fantasy pick for Ratcliffe from the club’s past to play alongside him, rather than Scholes to play instead of him.
