Former captain Gary Neville has questioned Manchester United’s recruitment process in midfield, describing it as ‘all a little bit strange’.
Neville made the admission after United manager Erik ten Hag introduced Mason Mount at the start of the second half during Sunday’s derby against Manchester City at Old Trafford. The England international stepped off the bench at the interval to replace Sofyan Amrabat.
The latter had been booked in the first half, meaning that may have influenced Ten Hag’s thinking. The Dutchman, however, did not have a like-for-like replacement for Amrabat on the bench, with Casemiro unavailable through injury.
Mount joined Christian Eriksen and Scott McTominay in the centre of midfield. Eriksen played as the deepest of the trio, with Mount in the No.10 berth and McTominay playing in the No.8 role.
And that prompted Neville to question United’s thinking when recently strengthening their midfield options, saying Eriksen and Mount, like Bruno Fernandes, are both natural attacking midfielders. Eriksen, however, has produced the best of his football at Old Trafford as a deep-lying No.8, operating between both boxes.
“You just sort of wonder how they have been recruited,” Neville told Sky Sports. “Eriksen, Fernandes and Mount are all No.10s. There is three of them.
“Casemiro and Amrabat are the ones who sit a little bit deeper. McTominay, to be fair, was supposed to be leaving, he [Ten Hag] wanted him out, and he is probably now United’s best midfield player in terms of performances in these last few weeks. It is all a little bit strange.”
