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Bellingham, Grealish, Maddison, Sancho... Which target is the best for Man Utd?

  /  autty

Manchester United will be on the lookout for midfield reinforcements in the next transfer window, with creative talents at the top of their list.

Whoever comes to Man Utd, they should combine well with Fernandes and Pogba and take United's attacking play up a notch.

The players most strongly linked with a move to Old Trafford include Birmingham teen Jude Bellingham, Aston Villa star Jack Grealish, Leicester City's James Maddison and Jadon Sancho of Borussia Dortmund, so who would work best?

As talented as Bellingham clearly is, it's hard to believe he would make an immediate impact and improve Manchester United. A 16-year-old who is ranked around 50th in the Championship for dribbling is unlikely to prosper in the top flight straight away.

Sancho would have no such issues. He already completes almost twice as many dribbles per 90 minutes as Bellingham and the fourth most in the 2019/20 Bundesliga. More impressively, he's top of the rankings in Germany for completed passes into the box, with 45. He is often deployed in wide areas, though, so would he work well with United's existing midfield options?

The best fit would probably come from either Grealish or Maddison. Rio Ferdinand has said he would prioritise the former of the two, and that appears to make sense.

Opposition defenders simply don't know how to deal with Grealish. He has been fouled the most times in the Premier League this season, at least 33 times more than any other player. And don't forget that's while playing for a struggling Villa side, who don't have the ball anywhere near as much as United do.

He's also fourth in the division for passes into the penalty area, which is impressive when lining up for a team in the drop zone. Grealish's numbers will be boosted by being his team's main man, but they also suggest he would thrive between the lines at Old Trafford and cause havoc when playing in tandem with Fernandes and Pogba.