Manchester United are progressing well under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer currently and it seems he has identified another player who can help to take the team to the next level, Denis Zakaria.
Sky Germany via the Daily Star reported that United were leading the race to sign the midfielder ahead of multiple other big clubs around Europe, and the interest in the 23-year-old is little surprise considering his form this season.
Not only has Zakaria impressed on an individual level with a WhoScored average of 7.15, but he has also enabled Borussia Monchengladbach to compete for the Bundesliga title for large parts of the season, though they have slipped away in recent weeks and now sit fourth.
The Red Devils seem to have had much success with the capture of Bruno Fernandes in January, and perhaps view Zakaria as the ideal option to fulfil a deeper role in midfield, perhaps alongside either Fred or Scott McTominay – with Paul Pogba’s future unclear.
In many ways, Zakaria – who Transfermarkt value at £40.5m – seems like the perfect fit for Solskjaer.
The Switzerland international provides the reliability the United boss will be desperate for considering injuries to Pogba and McTominay this season, while he is still young and has the potential to get even better.
Zakaria has featured in 23 out of 25 league games this campaign to evidence that, while 37, 27, and 37 appearances respectively for Mason Greenwood, Brandon Williams and Dan James show the trust Solskjaer is placing in youth.
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Added to that, the Gladbach midfielder has many attributes that the Red Devils boss likely admires, as he is very similar to Fred.
Fred has managed 2.2 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per league game to Zakaria’s 2.1 and 1.6, while the latter has averaged two dribbles per game compared to Fred’s 1.5, and considering the Brazilian has improved under Solskjaer it is possible that the potential signing could follow suit.
By Zakaria’s own admission, he is the type of box-to-box midfielder who could bring tremendous energy to United, with the player suggesting that he has been compared to Patrick Vieira in the past, admitting that he looked up to the former Arsenal man.
If he can get anywhere close to his standard then he would be a brilliant addition, and likely help Man United progress on the pitch.
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Elsewhere, the Red Devils have also been linked with another exciting player tearing things up in another European league…