Manchester United could upgrade Erik ten Hag's midfield for free next summer

Whisper it but things are looking bright for Manchester United.

After the disastrous opening to the season, Erik ten Hag managed to stop the rot and turn his side's fortunes around with a pragmatic approach. If anything, the losses to Brighton and Brentford did the new manager a favour as it gave the club no choice but to go out and get more additions before the transfer window closed. A world-class defensive midfielder was signed in Casemiro and Ten Hag finally managed to get his hands on Antony, his top attacking target.

Yet, things didn't go completely to plan as Ten Hag's ultimate signing in Frenkie de Jong eluded him. United put in a lot of hard work and patience to try and sign the midfielder from Barcelona, but his reluctance to leave Camp Nou and his complicated wage situation saw the possibility fizzle out. It wasn't the end of the world, though.

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Casemiro, a proper holding midfielder that United have cried out for years for, was a signing much more in tune with what United need to improve — and it's not as though Ten Hag hadn't already signed someone to do De Jong's role. Christian Eriksen has had an excellent start to life in Manchester and it's a wonder there wasn't fiercer competition for his signature.

A season in Italy and his medical tragedy seem to have allowed some people to forget just how brilliant he is. A classy and composed operator with a pinpoint range of passing, he would walk into pretty much every Premier League starting XI and make it better, just as he has done at Old Trafford.

For the first time in literally years, United have a technical wizard in the middle of the park rather than the usual series of hard-running grafters.