Arrives from Fiorentina - Why Man Utd were desperate to sign Amrabat

Manchester United have found a new defensive midfielder. On deadline day, the Premier League club announced that they had signed Sofyan Amrabat from Italian side Fiorentina. Discussions were complicated as Man United were unable to pay a significant fee this summer because of Financial Fair Play concerns. As a result, the Red Devils agreed a loan structure deal with the Serie A side. Sky reported that the two clubs have agreed on a loan with a fee of £8.5m (€10m) and an option to buy worth £21.4m (€25m), which breaks down as an initial payment of £17.1m (€20m) plus £4.2m (€5m) in performance-related add-ons.

In fact, Man United have had several midfielders on the list and were linked to Pierre-Emile Højbjerg just a few days ago. Like it is the case with Amrabat now, FFP constraints were the main issue for a deal not to materialize and whether Fiorentina are willing to help Man United to facilitate a deal this close to the window closing remains to be seen.

 

How good is Sofyan Amrabat? 

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of Amrabat’s game is that he can effectively play in two midfield roles extremely well. The Fiorentina star came to prominence during the 2022 World Cup, when he was a central figure in Morocco reaching the semi-finals of the tournament, largely off the back of his defensive midfield performances in the centre of the park. Throughout the tournament he showcased his ability to tackle, intercept and break up opposing attacks with remarkable efficiency. As such, he’d make a useful defensive midfielder in Man Utd's squads.

However, Amrabat is much more than just a ball-winning midfielder. While he may have found himself chasing down opposing players off the ball for his nation, for Fiorentina he tends to have much more possession and tends to play like a deep-lying playmaker for the Serie A side. According to Opta, last season saw the 27-year-old midfielder finish first among all midfielders for successful long passes, twelfth for successful passes into the opposition half and fifteenth for total passes over the course of the league campaign. When we couple that with the fact that he ranked fiftieth for ball losses among central midfielders, it suggests that not only is the midfielder an excellent defensive player, but can also pull the strings at the base of a midfield with excellent precision too.  

As such, Amrabat could easily slot into Man Utd's midfields as a No.6 capable of keeping the ball, passing it across the pitch with impressive accuracy, all while providing protection for his defensive line. And that could be exactly what Ten Hag's team need to turn poor their poor transfer windows around.