Grealish vs Van De Beek:
[A Thread]

With United looking to sign just one of the two they’ve been linked with, I’ve done a thread going over each players strengths and which one I think is the better signing.

Likes and RT’s appreciated
#MUFC

Firstly, we’ll be talking about Grealish.

At 24 years old, Grealish is the youngest captain in the premier league and has been one of the best players in the league this season, racking up 8 goals & 6 assists.

He’s a versatile player, generally playing at LW as an advanced playmaker, but he’s also capable of playing as a 10 or as an 8, with his minutes shown below:

LW – 1710 minutes
CM - 720 minutes
AM – 360 minutes
LM – 355 minutes

As a player he’s best known for his ability to beat his man 1v1 then cut in from the left, attempting 1.98 dribbles per game.

He’s a good dribbler, with a higher dribble success rate (59.2%) than, Rashford (54.8).

After going past his man he often looks to shoot, attempting 72 shots this season and has become known for cutting in on his right and finishing well as seen below.

Although it’s worth noting only 30% of his shots this season were on target.

However, this season, his decision making has really improved.

Where in previous seasons he would see the goal and shoot regardless of the situation, we now see him passing a lot more, with him playing the third highest amount of passes into the box in the league.

His creativity, not just from the left but when played centrally has been outstanding this season, and his stats for key passes really highlights this.

This season, other than Kevin De Bruyne, no player has played more key passes than Grealish, all while playing in a poor side.

One problem United may encounter is his tendency to drift out to the left(even when playing centrally), with all of his goals bar one coming from the left hand side.

With Rashford and Martial both natural left wingers, adding another to the squad could be a problem.

As United need squad depth all over the field, it would be of benefit to have a player who can step in at LW or CM, should there be an injury to either Bruno or Rashford.

Although this may indirectly impact Greenwood’s minutes if Sancho were to sign.

Now we will look at Van de Beek:

Van De Beek really came into the spotlight last season, after his performances at AM impressed all as Ajax made it to the Semi-final of the champions league.

Arguably Van de Beek’s best asset as a footballer is his football IQ and because of this he’s frequently compared to Thomas Müller.

If you look at the goal below against Chelsea, you can see the resemblance in play styles with how he finds space for an easy finish.

However, since De Jong’s departure we have seen him play a lot more deeper, in a box to box/deeper playmaker role. This could be of benefit to United as he could provide cover for both Pogba and Bruno Fernandes.

Although there passing range is comparable (see below), Pogba is much more of a long range passer with Van de Beek focusing more on linking play together with one-twos.

Because of this, he tends to dribble less, instead he offloads the ball quickly and looks to move into space.

His willingness to make runs into the box could be of great benefit to United.

This season we have seen them struggle greatly against the low blocks of Wolves and Spurs, but adding a player like Van De Beek could rectify this problem.

If you look at United’s pass maps in these games you see very few passes into the box, and United have badly lacked creativity in these games

However, these sorts of games are where we see Van De Beek excel, playing one two’s to break the low blocks down with movement in behind.

Overall, you can make a case for either one, but with United already having three players capable of playing on the left I would say Van De Beek is the better signing.

He provides better cover and adds elements to the squad Grealish can’t, and for £35m less looks to be a bargain

Likes and RT’s appreciated
#MUFC