3.3 Tackles/ Every 90mins: Why Manchester United Should Pin Their Hopes On This Midfield Superstar

Southampton were able to create a brilliant team under Mauricio Pochettino and most of those stars have left the Saints for greener or redder pastures. While everyone knows about the likes of Liverpool raiding the team like they were the Liverpool B side, Arsenal and Manchester United have also had their picks over recent seasons.

While Arsenal brought in the likes of Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and more recently Calum Chambers, Manchester United first signed Luke Shaw and recently got the signing of a defensive midfielder who had wanted to move away from St. Mary’s, Morgan Schneiderlin.

The French midfielder was keen to move away from the side and it seemed that he was destined to join Arsenal but Manchester United and Louis van Gaal signed the 26-year-old and he has been one of the few players who hasn’t done poorly for his new side.

Schneiderlin though hasn’t played every game for Manchester United as Louis van Gaal still seems to be learning about his side and while United do play a more pragmatic game under the Dutch manager, Schneiderlin should technically thrive in such a playing style. We look at the first half of his career at Manchester United and compare it with his last season at St. Mary’s using Squawka.com.

A move to a bigger club but has it led to better performances?

When it comes to passing the ball around, Schneiderlin certainly has kept his pass completion percentage in check, he managed to complete 89% of his passes during his last season at Southampton and now manages 90% for Manchester United but his forward passes per 90 minutes has gone down at Old Trafford with him completing 40 passes compared to 43 for Southampton.

Playing for a more defensive team also has curtailed his offensive contribution with him averaging just 0.5 key passes per 90 minutes when he would averages 0.8 key passes per 90 for Southampton. Schneiderlin though isn’t an attacking midfielder though and we must look his defensive contributions as well.

The 26-year-old certainly completed more tackles last season with 3.3 tackles made per 90 minutes compared to 2.3 for Manchester United this season. Even winning aerial duels has come down for the French midfielder as now he wins just 0.9 aerial duels per 90 minutes for United compared to 1.8 for Southampton, double the headers won last season.

His interceptions though have increased for Manchester United with 2.9 per 90 compared to 2.6 for Southampton. Schneiderlin hasn’t played in all the games for his new club but certainly his performances are getting better as the games go by.

He might not be playing at the levels he achieved at Southampton but if he is given chances to prove his ability as he seems to be getting at the moment, there is no doubt that he will eclipse his form that made him one of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League last season.