The notion that, we, Manchester United, could get Fekir for a low-key figure is risible. He's a crown jewel and he's only 24 - Lyon would demand mega money for him and he is worth it, too, if you can look past a serious injury in his past, that is.
A few years back, I hoped we would get him, Dembele and Gundogan before they went on to become world stars. Since then, Fekir has a major injury, Gundogan fell apart and Dembele refused us and a host of top clubs to go off to Dortmund. Fekir is the only one from the trio not to make the move to a club who will triple or quadruple his wages, and, he seems to be well over his injury and showing no psychological trauma from it as he's twisting and turning without a second thought. With this in mind, he has to be a major target for the big clubs either this winter window or in the summer.
He has numerous assets we are in need of:
- Extremely difficult to dispossess. This means those around him can run ahead of the ball without hesitation as he can be relied upon to shield, weave, twist, turn and dribble his way out of practically any situation. He's rated as one of the best dribblers in the world because he has that innate ability to see, and exploit, any gaps and openings or wrong foot opposing players the second they come into his space to try and tackle him. He draws a huge amount of fouls or otherwise gets to wherever it is he wants to go and he takes two players to really commit to have any chance of getting the ball off him as one has to go in for the initial tackle and the other is there to try and sweep up on reaction, which often ends in failure, too. In relation to us, it means our forwards can make runs away from the ball and look to exploit the space he creates via the sheer panic his approach play generates. It also means our midfield can push up and really impose themselves as well.
- Brilliant at one and two touch combination play. This guy is Pogba's, Mkhitarayan's and Martial's perfect foil as he knits build-up together and enables that rapid pinging of possession-based football together perfectly. He's also able to break from that and go on a solo run at any given moment, which makes dealing with him absolutely vital for the opposition.
- Frees up Pogba - If Pogba has Matic behind him and Fekir in front, the platform to really impose himself on games is set. You can't double-team both he and Fekir, and whichever one has only a single man on him is going to flourish. Fekir, playing further up the pitch, is a more immediate danger than Pogba to contend with, so logically is the one teams are going to swarm and once they do that, they are leaving holes all over the place which someone with Pogba's passing prowess can easily take advantage of. Pogba and Fekir in the same midfield would take an extreme show of tactical nous and defensive skill to stop over 90 minutes and so much of the oppositions' time would be devoted to that that overlapping runners at full-back and those ahead of the ball would have the perfect foundations to go on and really impose themselves on a game.
- Quality on set pieces - Has power and whip on his corners... and he beats the first man. A threat on free kicks, and he's not afraid to take penalties...
- Proactive. He makes things happen, be it a foul, a corner, a chance on goal because he will encroach until he is confronted, which forces centre-backs and midfielders to make split decisions on what to do before he's in the box.
- Not a bottler or supplementary player. He doesn't need others to be doing well to do his own thing. It helps, but it's not essential - he's not the type that just goes down with the ship all passively and without fight, which can't be said for a few #10's out there.
- A threat from distance. Via both his passing and shooting, which means he has to be closed down quickly before he lets rip, which again plays into his hands because he wants to be engaged so that he can skip past that man and take him out of the game. If a DM or CB is rushing out to meet him, then Lukaku immediately has a channel and an angled run to use.
- Works hard defensively.
- Scores goals. He'll get himself into the box when he sees the chance to do so. Has the awareness to follow-in for rebounds and the like.
- Creative and persistent. Not one to let his head drop in times when things aren't going well for him or the team, and like a few others in the game, always capable of a moment of magic to turn a game, be it a pass, dribble or shot.
- Spots and plays a key pass. Not afraid to progress the ball or set some one of into space. Doesn't have the hesitancy or inconsistency in rapid play we've become all to familiar with.
My biggest concern with Fekir would be injuries. Not necessarily down to his big injury, but more that he gets clattered, a lot, and it surely is going to take its toll sooner or later. In the PL, he would draw a lot of fouls and cumulative damage is something that befalls a lot of superb dribblers. Having said that, I'd have him here in a heartbeat, because outside of the injury concerns, he ticks every box we are lacking in as a squad. He was well on his way to being a world class player before the injury, and he has the talent and seems to have lost none of what he was mentally or physically, so there's no reason why he cannot keep going on the same trajectory and fulfill his immense potential.
He's the kind of player the other team has to plan for and the tactical advantages for his own side because of that are considerable. If we want our very own play-making talent to rival the De Bruyne's, Silva's, Hazard's, Oezil's (when he can be arsed), Countinho's, Eriksen's of the league, then this is the man for the job and if he goes somewhere else and becomes a world renowned player, it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.
