Nick Powell - The future of England's midfield

Nick Powell

Barely two weeks from now, a film is going to release on the Class of ’92. Perhaps, they were the greatest batch of players ever produced by Manchester United. Sir Alex Ferguson dynamic rise to the top would have been only a dream without these men. They portrayed the heart and soul of Manchester United.

Ever since these six men, United have produced few to match the might of them. No player since has matched up to the talent of those six. Tom Cleverley, Danny Welbeck were the most recent ones but their hype has remained a hype. Though they are very good players in their own right, it would be a feeble comparison when placed aside those six.

Ever since the ageing up of Scholes, questions have shadowed Old Trafford as to who would replace this luminary at Manchester United. Out of all the players that Sir Alex produced, I would say that Scholes was arguably the best. The way we he would dictate the tempo of a match was a delight to watch. Those inch-perfect long-balls, out-of-the-world screamers, a 100% commitment every time he stepped on to a field; well, that’s what made him a special player.

But, nothing in life is forever. A change is always imminent. And the time for a change has come. Paul Scholes has left. And David Moyes bought a certain Maraoune Fellaini to shore up the midfield. But he is no Scholes. He is an excellent player, a strong man but you need a certain flair to be the next Scholes.

There is one man who is already in the Manchester United set-up. He was, sometime ago called by Sir Alex Ferguson as the ‘Next Scholes’. Well, not every man earns such a title. The last such person was Tom Cleverly. He has done everything but lived up to the expectations. Constantly riggled by injuries, he has strived to disappoint to the expectations that were placed upon his shoulders.

But there is one man. He has all it takes to become the ‘next Scholes’. He has the potential to become one of the best midfielders of his generation. He scored a Scholes-esque goal from outside the box within minutes of his Premier League debut. He is regarded as one of the most exciting and talented youngsters in England.

Nick Powell.

To give a quick heads-up, Nick Powell has long been touted as one of the best youngsters in England. But, he made his name in the headlines when he moved to Manchester United for 4 mn from Crewe Alexandra. He had helped Crewe Alexandra to be promoted and had scored a brace in the play-off finals. Sir Alex wasted no time in signing him in the 2012 Summer Transfer Window.

Not every day is 4 mn paid for an 18-year old teenager. But, he was special. Even in his younger days, he stood out among the lot. Having completed a successful move to Manchester United, he knew that his playing would be drastically low compared to that he enjoyed at his former club. But, he was up to the challenge and stayed put at Old Trafford rather than going out on loan in his first season.

When Manchester United were enjoying a comfortable lead against Wigan Athletic, SAF chose to hand him his first appearance in a United shirt and brought him on for Paul Scholes with few minutes to go. And who would have know, minutes after entering the field he scored a screamer from outside the box.

That was the day, a new Manchester United star rose out of the bush. Sir Alex exclaimed after the match, ‘Nick Powell is going to be a really good player,’ he said. ‘He has a great temperament, is two-footed and quick. He is a good physical specimen and has terrific vision.

‘We hope Powell fills Paul Scholes’ boots. For an 18-year-old boy it has been a terrific day.’

This was in August 2012-13. Fast forward a year, and Nick Powell is making waves in the Europa League. Having joined Wigan Athletic on loan, he has impressed everyone with his performances in the Europa League. Owen Coyle has placed full faith in him and the same has materialized through his performances.

Analysing his performances, it can be warranted that there is a certain flair to his game. Not since the advent of Paul Scholes, has Old Trafford seen a player that controls the game so effortlessly. Speaking of which, he does all this in an advanced midfield position. Rather the position where Scholes originally played in his early days.

Reminiscent of a young Wayne Rooney bursting through defences, the greatest ability of this lad is his rather uncanny ability to beat the marker and break through defenses. His game possesses that unpredictability and the element of surprise, something rarely seen in English players.

Adding up to all of the above attributes, what sets him apart from others is his goal-scoring exploits. Similar to that of Frank Lampard, his late runs into the box are perfect and he scores at a fairly high rate. He’s scored 17 goals in about 60 appearances in club football. A record that is appreciable for a 19-year old.

This goalscoring form, you would expect will only increase as he grows. Another aspect of his game is his versatility. He can virtually play anywhere in the front six and would more or less put in an equally good performance. However, his best position is the No.10 behind the striker although he is equally comfortable playing as the regista and dictating the play.

Nick Powell

Seeing that Paul Scholes has joined the Manchester United coaching staff, it must not be a very tough task to mould him into a deep-lying playmaker. His ability to dribble past players and high level of close control results in him earning many fouls in the final third. For a team like Manchester United, who have so many set-piece specialists, such a player is invaluable.

The only notable weakness in his game is his aerial ability. His prowess in the air is not at the best, even considering the fact that he is 6’ feet.

If one considers previous generation of English midfielders like Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes they all had one major weakness. Their game was deficient of defensive ability. Scholes, for all his flair, is infamous for his perfectly mistimed tackles. Lampard, at his prime had a non-existant defensive work-rate. Gerrard was more than willing to track back but then he lost out on his attacking instincts in the match once he started tracking back.

Now, that is a problem that could be considered solved with Powell. One of his main strengths is his defensive work-rate and high percentage of successful tackles. This season, in the 11 games he’s played he averages 1.6 tackles every game. He manages 1 interception every 130 minutes. He is yet to earn a booking since the start of the season. He is rarely ever dribbled past by an opposition player.

Getting such defensive commitment from a trequartista, there are few men in Europe who can do this much.

If you take a look at his attacking statistics, they are quite impressive too. In 11 appearances this season, he has already bagged three man of the match awards. On his Europa League debut, he scored a brace for Wigan which included an amazing goal where in he dribbled past two players before wrong-footing the goalkeeper.

He has already scored five goals this season in about 900 minutes of playing time. He averages three shots every game with finding the target every third time. He makes an average of 1.2 key passes per game and makes 2 successful dribbles every 100 minutes. He is fouled an average of three times every game and every one of five fouls are within 25 yards of the goal. He is rarely ever dispossessed of the ball with an average of twice every 120 minutes.

Moving on to the passing part of his game, his statistics make up for more than we need to tell. Although he’s made only one assist, it is the link-up play where his strength lies. He makes an average of 20 passes a game when he starts as the trequartista. Though, If he were to transform into a deep-lying central midfielder, he would need to better this rate. Something, I believe can be done under the watchful eyes and tutelage on Paul Scholes.

However, his pass success rate is at a respectable 72%. Many of Europe’s top attacking midfielders have an average of 75%. Seeing which, we can deduce it is only a matter of time before he increases his passing success rate.

The above picture shows his heat map against Maribor in the Europa League. As we can see, he does most of his work between the midfield and frontline. And he also manages to drop back to help his team defensively.

From all the above stats and data, we can infer that Manchester United have a potential World-beater in their ranks. It was a wise decision to send him on loan to Wigan Athletic where he is really excelling and showing his true worth under Owen Coyle.

While some may argue that this kid is over-hyped because of the fact that he is at Old Trafford, I strongly disagree with you. Keep your ears open and someday you will hear of a certain Nick Powell destroying defenses for good and making fools out of opposition.

Don’t be surprised if England flourishes owing to a fair lad from Manchester United known by the name of Nick Powell.