MUFC BASE

With reports now claiming that Manchester United have added Iliman Ndiaye to their left-wing shortlist, the realistic options are starting to take shape.

Current names being linked include:

Barcola
Diomande
Summerville
Ndiaye
Rafael Leao

Man United fans who are you picking? 🤔

There’s something really interesting about Tonali. When you watch him play, the eye test almost makes you feel like United should just pay whatever fee Newcastle ask for and get the deal done.

But when you start digging into the numbers and comparing him to players like Anderson, Baleba, Mateus Fernandes and James Garner, things become a bit confusing. Statistically, he doesn’t stand out as much as you’d expect. His numbers for goals, assists, possession won and some defensive metrics are actually lower than several of those players.

It really makes evaluating Tonali so difficult. The eye test tells you one thing, while the data sometimes tells you another.

He’s still one of my favourite options for the marquee midfield signing though. There’s just something about his presence, intelligence and overall influence on a game that doesn’t always seem to show up fully in the statistics.