Yeah ideally Erik can find someone cheaper
For Me Ten Hag see’s the CB/CDM hybrid player as vital to his tactics.
It’s the player that allows De Jong to roam and let our back 2 turn in to a back 3 with both full backs able to get forward too.
It allows us to play with 352 attacks with even 2 out of 3 CB’s ball playing CB’s from deep.
Maybe I am biased because I love the way Rice plays CB/CDM and basically let’s Soucek “roam” - but I do think he is the best available in this position.
I’m not a scout though and I’ve heard of players like Noah Mbamba who is 16 and Belgian.
Ten Hag on Frenkie De Jong & Freedom :
Frenkie is the biggest talent, etc etc. Well yes. But, where? In midfield? Ok, but which role?
"His quality is that he makes the forwards perform better. He is a wanderer, an adventurer, he’s always on the move, like a shark. With the ball, often, but also without the ball. So if you put him on 6 [defensive midfield], he’s away too often. But you need to give him freedom, otherwise you can’t the best out of him.
"It wasn’t an easy puzzle, so I decided to play with two number 6s and only one attacking mid. And in this way, we can also dominate the half space, and force opponents to choose."
See, Frenkie didn’t fail at Barcelona because of Busquets- because De Jong roams and would leave no CDM in the midfield of Barcelona. It’s more because Barcelona didn’t play with 2 6’s and let one guard the back line whilst letting another roam.
Guarding the back line is literally Rice - the player that stops shots appearing on your goalposts and gives the freedom for everyone else to attack.