Manchester United just spent an entire summer window wanting to bring in a new midfielder within the ranks at M16 without any new face in the second phase to show for it.
And now the Premier League heavyweights are weighing up a move to bring Brentford midfielder Yehor Yarmoliuk to Old Trafford when the winter transfer window comes around.
The 21-year-old is said to be attracting some aggressive interest, with the Bees open to selling him for two offers in the region of £30 million or more. And whether the club ends up pushing for a move for him will highly be dependent on whether the decision-makers at Carrington end up prioritising the fact that midfield needs addressing. The second phase has been the big problem for the Manchester Reds in the faulty performances this season.
And in Yarmoliuk, United can get a central midfielder who has the capacity to slot in on the defensive side of things (DM). He moved to Gtech Community Stadium in 2022 from Dnipro‑1, and while he is not scoring or assisting as much to find that limelight, there are a lot of positive traits he has been showing. The 1.80m midfielder has been putting in an elite work rate while bringing his elite technical ability to the table. He has big lungs, and he uses much of that in shuffling between pressing with intensity and in those very important defensive contributions.
It is his ability to cover ground that makes him a steady presence in midfield. And that shows in the fact that he has been building his minutes at Brentford. He featured 35 times for his current employers last season (starting 19 of them), and this season he has started all four of the league games under Keith Andrews.
Why do United need Yehor Yarmoliuk?
Manchester Reds’ midfield has looked really thin in the ongoing Premier League campaign. We are watching how many players aren’t stepping up in that second phase, complemented by the fact that Amorim is also not able to find a stable combination. And bringing in someone like Yarmoliuk can give United much-needed energy and defensive cover (both of which have been a problem at times this season).
Moreover, he would be different from the likes of Ugarte and Casemiro, given that he has multiple seasons of first-team football in the English top tier under his belt. And he has already been tested and honed under pressure for Brentford.
And if the Bees’ reported valuation of him (~£30m+) is the ideal price that he comes at, then the 21-year-old would be a cheaper alternative to a lot of other midfielders being linked with a move to M16.
Why Yehor Yarmoliuk?
Yehor Yarmoliuk has a unique ability in the middle of the park. He has an exceptional work rate, and he backs it up by his big lungs (which come in handy given the nature of the Premier League and the fact that United have been lacking grinding bodies in that second phase).
And then the 21-year-old is not your run-at-everything midfielder. If you watch him pressing, he is quite intense but also intelligent. He complements this by being positionally disciplined (now this is much different than having players scrambling to get back to the state of play like we saw in the Manchester derby the other day).
Moreover, he stays quite calm and comfortable when playing in tight spaces.
Weaknesses
The 21-year-old doesn’t have that sort of threat in front of goal that many would have liked. And then he is still learning the art of dictating the tempo of games. But he is still young and has a lot of capacity to develop in the years. And then he doesn’t have much experience in European football or in high-pressure games where he still needs to hone his talent.
WAFU opinion
Given that he will possibly be going to come at a price which would have low risk but then also have that capacity to come out of it with a lot of upside.
Yarmoliuk may not have that flair and reputation which many of the other targets, like Carlos Baleba, bring to the table, but he does meet the needs that United have right now. He has those legs and much-needed calmness in chaos. Moreover, signing someone at that price who already has a couple of seasons of experience under his belt. And whilst being 21, he doesn’t shy away from responsibility, and at 21, he can still be moulded into something more.
He’s not the glamorous signing fans are craving, but he’s a very necessary one. If Amorim and the board are serious about fixing United’s broken midfield, this is the type of business that makes sense in January.