If Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes play together, who should be Manchester United’s third midfielder?

Debate over Pogba and Fernandes’s compatibility ignores Solskjaer’s biggest headache

Nearly five months since they became team-mates, Paul Pogba and Bruno Fernandes can finally play together. Ole Gunner Solskjaer is not expected to deploy his two most naturally-gifted player from the off when Manchester United travel to play Tottenham Hotspur this evening, but the pair will begin to combine over the coming weeks during Project Restart.

The Premier League’s three-month pause has allowed Pogba to fully recover from the ankle ligament issues which have limited him to only eight appearances since the start of the season and briefly appeared to have ended his Old Trafford career. Pogba will instead return to a side rejuvenated by Fernandes’s January arrival.

There was a debate during the break about how – and even if – the pair could play together, though Solskjaer’s 4-2-3-1 set-up would appear to accommodate them well. Fernandes has already hit the ground running as United’s No 10 – with three assists, a goal and a penalty in five league games – and though he can operate deeper, if it ain’t broke, why fix it?

Pogba, meanwhile, is underrated as a deeper-lying playmaker. All five of his league starts at the beginning of the season came as one of Solskjaer’s two deepest midfielders and based on those performances, he leads the way among the United squad in a range of per-90-minute passing statistics, whether that be key passes, passes into the penalty area, expected assists or a range of other metrics.

Of course, Pogba’s numbers are slightly skewed by the small sample size due to his lack of playing time, but they are comparable to last season when he was practically an ever-present. He won a World Cup with France in that position too, you may remember. With Fernandes’s shooting ability from range, the pair have the potential to complement each other.

And so the question is not so much whether Pogba and Fernandes can play together, but who will they play with?

Two of Scott McTominay, Fred and Nemanja Matic will have their playing time dented by Pogba’s return but all three have something going in their favour. McTominay started alongside Pogba at the beginning of the season and will be viewed by many as the man in possession. His rise over the last 18 months from an academy graduate on the fringes of the first team to a regular starter and a potential captain has been richly deserved.

Fred, meanwhile, is arguably Marcus Rashford’s only rival in United’s player of the year stakes. He is certainly the most improved member of Solskjaer’s squad, finally returning value on a £52m transfer fee after taking his time to settle into life in Manchester. And then even Nemanja Matic, whose time at Old Trafford appeared to be winding down during the autumn, has received a one-year contract extension.

“Any of them would be capable of playing a full season at Man United and being a regular,” Solskjaer said on Thursday morning, when weighing up his midfield options. “It’s given me not a problem but a nice challenge to choose and pick the right ones: when they are in the right form, when they are against the right opponents. Nemanja, Scott, Fred have had a fantastic turnaround, all of them. They have had a good season.”

Solskjaer’s hint that he will adopt a rotation policy between the three players makes sense. McTominay, Fred and Matic all offer slightly different qualities, suited to different types of opponent, though on the evidence of this season, one generally stands out above the pack. Fred has had a genuinely excellent second year – not simply one of adaptation and adjustment after a difficult first term.

A comparison of his defensive performances with those of McTominay and Matic shows how he has become United’s lynchpin in the middle of the park. Fred wins a tackle every 43 minutes – behind the likes of N’Golo Kanté and Wilfred Ndidi, the top-flight’s elite ball-winners – but faster than any other United player with significant minutes under their belt this year. McTominay takes 57 minutes to win a tackle by comparison, while Matic takes approximately 69.

Paul Pogba is ready to return for Manchester United (AFP via Getty Images)

McTominay rivals Fred when it comes to interceptions, with both cutting out an opposition pass every 56 minutes, and is generally more successful in tackling opponents on the dribble. Yet the area Fred excels at beyond both McTominay and Matic is pressing. If Solskjaer wants his midfielders to chase and win the ball rather than sit off the opposition, he is really the only option.

While McTominay and Matic try an average of around 15 presses every 90 minutes, Fred attempts twice as many. He is the second-most active presser in United’s entire squad, trailing only the unlikely figure of Jesse Lingard. Fred leads more successful presses than Lingard or any other United player though, winning the ball back by closing down opponents every 11 minutes.

And though the onus will be on other players to create, Fred is the most versatile of the three defensive midfield candidates and able to contribute in attack. A key pass every 56 minutes is a long way behind Pogba and Fernandes but still a useful contribution from a player taking up a deeper position. Only Pogba is better at playing passes while under pressure from opponents too.

The decision is not totally clear-cut and, as Solskjaer says, will sometimes depend on the opposition United face. While next season is likely to be Matic’s last at Old Trafford, McTominay will be an important player for years to come if he continues to improve. At 23 years old, he can establish himself as an effective ball-winner in midfield and his homegrown, academy graduate status chimes with both the club and his manager’s philosophy.

Yet if Solskjaer wants a dynamic defensive presence approaching his peak to be the most effective foil to Pogba and Fernandes, Fred is the outstanding candidate on this season’s evidence. He should be the third prong in a new-look midfield tonight. But if the Brazilian is instead one of the two to lose out, United may fail to strike the right balance, and Solskjaer may not feel the benefit of finally having his best two players on the pitch.

Data source: FBRef