Cristiano Ronaldo gesture shows Manchester United will miss Nemanja Matic

Matic's untimely form

The Manchester United midfield was an area that needed reinforcement even before Nemanja Matic confirmed his time at the club was coming to an end.

After recent performances Matic might find his options opening up this summer. The Serbian has been a reassuring performer in the centre of the pitch of late and has mixed his positional discipline with an eye for a pass further forward as well.

It sounds simple but United's ideal replacement this summer needs to basically be a younger, more mobile version of Matic. Someone like Declan Rice looks to fit the bill perfectly.

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Matic is United's only natural holding midfielder and in the back-to-back Old Trafford games against Chelsea and Brentford he has stood head and shoulders above Scott McTominay, who is probably the closest United have to someone who can fill his shoes.

Matic created Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Chelsea with a brilliant loft-wedge of a pass and he showed an eye for the impudent again early in the second half against Brentford.

He had time to pick a pass in the centre circle, but the chipped ball he found to release Bruno Fernandes was outstanding and it deserved the finish, only for Fernandes to drag it narrowly wide.

When Matic was replaced with 20 minutes to go Ronaldo began the applause on the pitch and then raced to the centre circle to give his teammate a hug. After this dreadful season it was a gesture that showed Ronaldo knows what United will miss when Matic isn't around.

Ronaldo's role

If Erik ten Hag has been watching United closely in recent weeks then he will surely have been impressed by the form of Ronaldo, who is now up to 24 goals this season.

Ronaldo won and converted