Herrera
Jose Mourinho's arrival at Manchester United may be cause for concern for Juan Mata
(the manager sold the midfielder just months after returning to Chelsea
in the summer of 2013), but his compatriot Ander Herrera will likely be
quite excited.
When United signed Herrera from Athletic Bilbao in
June 2014, he was widely regarded as the quintessential Louis van Gaal
midfielder. Technically gifted and tactically smart, he was the type of
player who brought the Dutchman great success earlier in his coaching
career. Yet Herrera's two years at Manchester United seem to represent
most of the failings of Van Gaal's reign.
In retrospect, Herrera probably suffered most from United's 5-3 defeat away to Leicester City on Sept. 21, 2014,
the game which many people identified as the moment Van Gaal opted for a
cautious, stultifying brand of football. In between injuries, Herrera
found himself confined to the bench for large stretches of the 2014-15
season.
When he was finally called into action during the 2015-16
campaign, it was often as a part of a two-man midfield with a far less
mobile partner, leaving him overworked and outmanned. At one point,
Herrera even found himself in a role just in front of the back four, a
position perfectly designed to negate the very best of his attacking
instincts.
If there are any clues as to how Mourinho may use him, a
good place to start is looking at how he deployed Tiago at Chelsea.
Tiago was the centre of a three-man midfield tasked with shuttling the
ball between defence and attack, and he was highly effective in that
role. Herrera has a rare blend of skills -- he's a progressive passer,
able to smuggle the ball out from tight spaces and still diligent on
defence -- and Mourinho will surely use all of these attributes to best
effect.
Given his ability to score and provide assists, Herrera has often
been expected to act as his team's primary creative force, yet in
reality he is an extremely talented link man. He is the first member of
his team's supporting cast, rather than its protagonist.
With the capture of Henrikh Mkhitaryan from Borussia Dortmund,
United now have an elite playmaker to whom Herrera can play deputy.
Prior to Mkhitaryan's signing, the team lacked someone who could
consistently organise the attack; Mata largely failed to impose himself
in that guise and often moved the ball a fraction too slow against
well-organised defences. Should Paul Pogba join,
then Herrera will be part of a midfield, alongside Morgan Schneiderlin,
that will be able to hold its own against any in the world.
Of course, there were several games in which Herrera put in poor performances, with one such outing against West Bromwich Albion
in March of this year. On that occasion, he seemed stymied, unable to
execute the simplest of passes, and was withdrawn at half-time. Yet even
then, he was under the constraints of a repressive tactical approach
that robbed him of the chance to play with flair.
Some would argue
that Mourinho's teams are little better in this respect, but a case in
the new manager's defence is his Real Madrid team, where Mesut Ozil,
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Kaka moved seamlessly in attack.
Mourinho, of course, is a master at hitting teams on the break, and
Herrera will be vital in that scheme, given his ability to move swiftly
through midfield. With exceptional pace ahead of him in the form of
Mkhitaryan, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Herrera should see his
assists tally increase sharply.
The Spaniard should also aim to see himself on the goalscorer sheet on a more regular basis. A key feature of his play is his ability to arrive late in the area and take
up dangerous positions while defenders are distracted by the team's
front line. This quality was of course the hallmark of Frank Lampard and
Paul Scholes, two players who were notably prolific at their best. The
havoc that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will undoubtedly bring should result in
more scoring opportunities for Herrera, who has the calmness to finish
that could, and arguably should, yield between 10 and 15 goals this
season.
A revitalised Herrera is arguably as important to United's
title chances as almost any of the club's signings this summer. At
United, he has rarely shown the consistency that allowed him to make a
name for himself at Bilbao. While Andres Iniesta, Isco and Co. stand
between Herrera and the international stage right now, he can at least
console himself with the thought of being pivotal for United as they
look to return to prominence on both domestic and European fronts.
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