Manchester United have had a great transfer window so far, having brought in three important and quality signing them being, Victor Lindelof, Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic. That means we have acquired the signatures of a centre back, a lethal striker and a holding midfielder to allow freedom of movement and fluidity in the teams engine room. But still Mourinho would prefer another attacking player through the wings, provided the club can grant him his wish, with Gareth Bale and Ivan Perisic contenders for the spot.
But coming on to the latest story that United’s young defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah has joined Crystal Palace on a year long loan deal. The player has already had a medical at the clubs training facility and is ready to be linked up with fellow countryman and new Palace manager Frank de Boer. The duo coming from the same nationality. Frank is a Johan Cruyff ideologist and looks up towards the legendary Dutchman.
De Boer has recently been appointed the manger of Crystal Palace following the departure of Sam Allardyce who helped the team battle relegation and remain in the top flight of English football. De Boer aims to generate a Barcelona type style of player and improve the attacking structure of the team, along with giving the youth an opportunity like during his time at Ajax.
De Boer who is very well known for his stint at Ajax, wining them four Eredevisie titles.
Inspired by Cruyff’s attacking play and Van Gaal’s man pressing and defensive play, he aims to blend these two terminologies and apply it too his upcoming Palace side with the help of youth.
During his time at Ajax he created some fine players who are having a great footballing career, them being Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and United’s Daley Blind, who all had graduated under him while he was Ajax youth coach back in 2007.
The manager who favours the classic Dutch 4–3-3 formation mainly concentrating on the attacking fluidity provided by the wingers. At Palace he has a young winger in Zaha, but as we are concentrating on Fosu-Mensah let’s see how can the young versatile defender can flourish under this rejuvenating style of play.
As his style requires concentration on wing play, the attackers will require support from full backs and with Tim’s athleticism, pace and power he will play a crucial part in the system. De Boer promises to give the starlet first team football and Mourinho expects him to come back strong gaining regular minutes and fight for the right back spot, the manager believes that he can be Antonio Valencia’s ideal successor.
During his time at Ajax de Boer followed a similar defensive tactic inspired by Van Gaal which requires the team to press high on the pitch in order to win early possession of the ball. This system didn’t work out at United as the player’s didn’t have any positional freedom, they had to stick to their given position which in turn slowed the gameplay, thus creating less chances on goal.
De Boer likes to have a five man midfield which allows his team to press hard and form a block to intercept the chain of incoming passes in the midfield. Fosu-Mensah would be used in this 4-5-1 formation acting as a holding midfielder tasked with intercepting and getting the ball back in possession while in the centre of the pitch, in other words he would act as an anchor with strength acting as his best weapon.
De Boer also tends to use a tactic which requires the wingers to press and challenge the opposing wingers during a defensive situation and while they are doing that, the full back can take the ball away or wait for the player to quickly pass the ball to his teammate in order to continue the attacking challenge. During this period if deployed as a right back, Fosu-Mensah can intercept or tackle the ball and immediately start a counter attack. He will play a very crucial role in either way irrespective of which system he is used in.
How Will The Deal Be An Advantage For United ? How Will He Improve ?
1. Premier League First Team Experience:
Fosu-Mensah has joined a Premier League club. Having gotten inadequate minutes last season it will be great to test him out against similar opposition and hopefully get that valuable first team minutes and experience so that he can get used to quickly and fight for a place next season.
2. Managed By A Fellow Countryman.
Timothy was given his debut by Van Gaal in during the injury crisis that hit the club in the months of February and March. Fosu-Mensah is set to be nurtured by a fellow countryman who is an idealist of The Great Johan Cruyff. The one year mentoring and guaranteed first team football by de Boer, would be great for the player, as they are from the same country it will be easy for them to understand each other and improve communication and team chemistry. Having followed Cruyff’s vision of modern attacking possessional football, the player can be transformed into a world beater and possibly the best right back in the league in the future.
3. Sent Him Out At The Right Age.
Having made his debut at a young age and during such a harsh moment for the club, it was one of the best things Louis had done during his reign. Getting in Rashford and Mensah who impressed during that season, it seemed that the academy has once again produced and provided their finest, who could be the name on the fans lips in the near future. Fosu-Mensah is 19 and is still young and has immense potential, he still has a long time to develop . Sending him out at this age would be a great move fir the club, given his potential.
4. Positional Knowledge.
Fosu-Mensah is highly versatile player. He can play anywhere in defence, be it right back, centre half, left back, wing back or even as a holding midfield . He has flourished as a right back during his appearances showing great strength and intelligence. Working with de Boer he can understand his strongest role and also fit in his tactics, given he is played in a five man midfield or a full back. Given his progress we will understand his position very soon. As Crystal Palace are not a top side, wining or contesting in the title this season would be very unlikely, we never know what will happen. But realistically Palace can alter their team more often, which will give the player to play in different positions and understand the game and his own game.
During the pre season Mourinho experimented a 3-5-2 formation playing Tim as a wing back in which he flourished, showing flashes of great pace, technicality, strength and awareness also creating some dangerous attacking situations by crossing the ball. It doesn’t look that Palace could play with three at the back, but given their attacking need we could see him in a wing back role.
5. A Win Again For The Academy.
Fosu-Mensah’s success at Palace would be a win again for the United Youth Academy as they once again would be credited for being the root for his success Rashford, Fosu-Mensah, Tuanzebe, McTominay and Angel Gomes could be the new breed of famous players produced by the academy after the Class Of 92 comprising of legends like Giggs, Beckham, Scholes, Butt ,Neville Brother. It’s not long until we can see this new breed also nicknamed ‘Jose’s Juniors’ could comprise a rejuvenated Timothy Fosu-Mensah
This deal could also be an indication of a new signing. United have been linked with Serge Aurier who is awaiting his trial in court, to grant him an English Visa following his antics of assaulting a British policeman. United have also reignited their interest in Monaco’s Fabinho who could be brought in as a new full back, if Mourinho intends to use Valencia in a deeper attacking role. This loan move could be the strongest indication of any imminent deal, as Mourinho wouldn’t have loaned him if he wasn’t going to buy a new player, as following his great pre season Fosu-Mensah would make an ideal squad rotation and a back up.
Stats Last Season:
Appearances : 10
Goals/Assists : 0/0
Pass Accuracy: 69.5 %
Having impressed in the pre season and given limited minutes on the pitch, we strongly believe Fosu-Mensah will be an integral part and give tough competition to his teammates next season. Remember This Name Timothy Fosu Mensah, He’s One To Watch This Upcoming Season.
We Wish Him All The Best For His Endeavours With Crystal Palace And Hope He Returns A World Class Player Next Season!
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