Rumour: £20m Claudio Marchisio would flourish at Manchester United

With David Moyes reportedly lining up a £20 million bid for Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio, will the Italian bring the driving force and creative spark that has been missing from the heart of Old Trafford this season?

The Scot is in needs of new recruits if he is to avoid a disastrous first season at the helm. Failure to win a piece of silverware or qualify for the Champions League would increase the pressure on his shoulders so he is likely to bring in new additions, with acquisitions in the midfield, which has taken the brunt of criticism levelled at the reigning Champions, most likely.

The 27-year-old Marchisio, who has spent his entire career at Juventus and has 41 caps for the Italian national side, has built a reputation as a tenacious tackler. He could be set for a move now there are rumours he has been deemed surplus to requirements, ironically, due the emergence of former United youngster Paul Pogba.

Should Moyes negotiate a deal for Marchisio, he is widely expected to take the place of the much maligned Tom Cleverley and drive United’s midfield forward while also employing signs of creativity. The Italian’s forward passes (64%) do not match up to the deep lying Michael Carrick (75.1%), but as he tends to move into more advanced areas this is to be expected. However, as he breaks forward, carrying the ball, can he be creative enough to bring the United front line into play? Zero assists for the past two seasons does not suggest so.

While 6 goals last season point to Marchisio’s eagerness to make runs into the box, half of his 48 shots were off target and suggest he can often be rash with his efforts, failing to convert 87.5% of his attempts, marginally worse than Tom Cleverley’s 85.7% from 14 attempts. However, Marchisio is not afraid to pull the trigger and actively tries to make things happen, while Cleverley can be seen as indecisive or drifting in and out of games.

The pitch view on total chances created shows Cleverley fails to get as far forward as Marchisio and also that he tends to stay in the middle rather than pull wide. The majority – 47.1% – of the chances Marchisio has created this season have come from the centre but he also likes to drift out to the left with 29.4% coming from that area, so he would be able to interchange with the United player dropping into the hole, most likely to be Wayne Rooney.

The areas in which Marchisio is most dangerous

With 17 chances created to his name this term, Marchisio does not appear to be clinical with his key passes, but the total would still make him joint highest in United’s midfield with wide man Antonio Valencia. A 50% success rate from a paltry 6 take-ons would suggest Marchisio does not enjoy running at his man in a one-on-one situation once he has pushed forward, opting to supply a teammate instead.

Questions can be asked of his creativity but not of his presence. Although not as impressive this year (47%), he won a whopping 68% of his tackles last season, demonstrating his tenacity. while 4 yellow cards this term, all received for poor tackling, suggest he would be ready for the physicality displayed in the Premier League.

Marchisio’s duels this season

United have missed a touch of steel that will push the team forward to chants of ‘Attack, Attack, Attack’, but while he might not give too much of an imaginative spark his mantra of getting into the final third suggests he could do some damage or feed the more creative talent in the side.

Marchisio may not slot straight into United’s formation depending on how Moyes chooses best to utilise him, but he would do well alongside the reliable Carrick. Although a decent acquisition, he does not represent the marquee signing that the fans will crave or put defences on the back foot like Yaya Toure or Mesut Ozil.