Herrera’s return to form has been crucial to Man Utd’s improvement under Solskjaer

NOT so long ago, Manchester United’s midfield was a wasteland. A place where promising, but ultimately subpar, prospects went to die.

ir Alex Ferguson had a skill for forging a midfield unit from everything and anything – from sellotape, blue tack and Fabio Da Silva, on occasion – but it soon dawned that while the legendary Scot had somehow made do, a black hole existed in the centre of the Old Trafford pitch.

Millions were spent in an attempt to address this, with countless players given a shot. There was Tom Cleverley, Daley Blind, Morgan Schneiderlin, Anderson and Bastian Schweinsteiger, just to name a few of the subpar midfielders who were rolled in and rolled out of Man Utd in the immediate post-Ferguson years. One player who was rolled in around this time has stuck around, though.

Ander Herrera completed more passes (57) & made more ball recoveries (9) than any other Man Utd player whilst he was on the pitch.

A key player for Ole. pic.twitter.com/RGyEO5kBQZ

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 9, 2019

Ander Herrera stands as a rare exception to the misguided and desperate transfer market splurge that came under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal. Signed from Athletic Bilbao in a drawn out saga of a move that at one point involved imposters, equipped with suitcases, turning up at the Spanish league headquarters posing as Man Utd officials, the Spaniard is coming up for five years at the club.

That isn’t to say that Herrera’s United career has followed a continued upward arc. There have been dips, like when Van Gaal tried to push him towards the exit door. Or when Jose Mourinho started to favour Scott McTominay over the Spaniard. Indeed, Herrera has had to fight for his place on more than one occasion.

It’s just as well fight is one of his strongest traits, then. Herrera brings a certain bite and drive to the Man Utd midfield, something Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has looked to harness since becoming caretaker manager at the club. Herrera is approaching his 30th birthday, and is out of contract at the end of the season, but his influence has never been greater.

Much has been said and written about the revitalisation of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and even Victor Lindelof under Solskjaer, but the extent of Herrera’s renaissance stands up to that of anyone else. He has become a driving force for United and a key component of the team that has gone 11 games unbeaten with Solskjaer at the helm.

Ander Herrera has been offered a new contract and seems certain to stay at United. #mufc [Telegraph]

— United Xtra (@utdxtra) February 6, 2019

It might be a bit of a stretch to compare Herrera to Roy Keane, but he brings many of the same qualities than the Irishman did to the great United sides of yesteryear. Alongside Pogba, who finally looks liberated as an attacking force, and Nemanja Matic, who has regained his capacity for breaking up opposition moves and providing a barrier in front of the back four, Solskjaer has found a perfect balance to his midfield unit.

On Tuesday night, when Paris Saint-Germain come to town in the Champions League, Herrera will face Marco Verratti, a player who is of the same mould as the Spaniard. Energetic and creative with the ball at his feet, Verratti plays slightly deeper than most midfielders of his type, and just like Herrera the Italian can be something of a windup merchant, revelling in the dark arts of the game. 

Of all the contradictions and paradoxes that came out of Mourinho’s tenure as Man Utd manager, Herrera offers one of the most perplexing. He should have been the perfect Mourinho midfielder and yet the Portuguese never seemed totally convinced. Solskjaer, however, likes what he sees.

Paris, and Verratti, will provide a measure of where Herrera is right now. It seems likely, given that Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Ashley Young have all recently signed new deals, that United will seek to tie Herrera down for at least another year, but a big performance on Tuesday night would underline how after years of having to convince sceptical managers Herrera has found one who truly believes in his understated brilliance.