Manchester United seem set to use their large transfer kitty with a move for an attacking midfielder, the need for some creativity in midfield was lacking last season and Louis Van Gaal seems set to correct that before the start of this season.
Two super talented players have been linked with a move to Old Trafford, Lazio’s Felipe Anderson and Hoffenheim’s Roberto Firmino, both are Brazilians and both play as attacking midfielders for their respective clubs. Firmino is 23-years-old while Anderson is 22 but United can only get one player and we have the definitive answer as to which player the club should target.
Germany goodbye, hello England
If stats and ability are to go by, the choice for Manchester United has to be Roberto Firmino; the attacking midfielder from Hoffenheim, the attacking midfielder has been one of the best players in the Bundesliga for the past 2 seasons and has scored 49 goals in 153 games for the club.
If we are to look at the last two seasons, he has scored 32 goals in 73 games which is a great record for any player, let alone an attacking midfielder. Firmino is also the second highest assist provider in the Bundesliga this season after Kevin de Bruyne, to put things into perspective, he has provided more assists than any other Bayern Munich player and that team has scored 50 more goals this season than Hoffenheim.
The other aspect of his game is his work rate, something that Anderson is not known for. Firmino had the 5th highest number of tackles in the Bundesliga this season and every other player who tackled more than Firmino was a defender. The midfielder is third in the list of goals and assists combined over the past 2 seasons and that is a great stat for a player playing for a mid-table Bundesliga club.
Felipe Anderson does have the edge over Firmino in terms of pace and skill. Firmino isn’t the most gifted player out there in terms of pace or tricks, but that should not be an issue for this Brazilian. Anderson also has come into the limelight in the second half of last season and isn’t the most consistent player out there.
The most telling stats or decision making stat has to be the fact that Anderson was in the standby list for the Copa America while Firmino has travelled with the squad to take part in the competition, plus Firmino would be available for a bargain compared to the lofty price tag of Anderson. Manchester United should move for Firmino and get one of the most exciting talents from the Bundesliga on a steal.