When Daley Blind was selected at centre-back for Manchester United’s first Premier League fixture of the season, many a Red Devils fan raised a doubtful eyebrow.
The Netherlands international’s typically Dutch tactical understanding of the game makes him a fantastic defensive all-rounder – the middle-to-lower-third’s answer to England international James Milner – and in my opinion, Louis van Gaal’s best pound-for-pound purchase during his three transfer windows at Old Trafford.
But a centre-back? In the Premier League? At first glance, the 5 foot 11 midfielder-come-full-back-now-come-centre-half just doesn’t have the frame, the strength or the aerial leap required for that position, especially in a division priding itself on domineering physicality and laden with old-fashioned No.9s.
Three games and just one goal conceded later, however, the 25-year-old is proving to be an improbably shrewd choice at the heart of defence. And he’s not just filling a gap, as he did in midfield and at No.3 during Michael Carrick and Luke Shaw’s respective injury bouts last season; with the arguable exception of summer signing Matteo Darmian, he’s been United’s best defender during their opening fixtures.
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That has as much to do with Blind’s trusted partner Chris Smalling as it does the Dutchman’s performances. Whilst neither are in company with the Premier League’s top centre-backs, they juxtapose each other’s strengths and weaknesses so perfectly that their collective value far exceeds them as individuals.
Take Smalling for example, a very physical, simple yet effective defender. I see him almost as a modern day Martin Keown through his awkward frame and seemingly sharp-edged limbs; by no means always pleasant to watch, but a real annoyance for whoever he’s marking. The England international, however, falls short in two key areas; his intelligence as a footballer and his quality in possession.
That’s where Blind, an indisputable master of both, comes in. His reading of the game not only aids Smalling but also the inexperienced Luke Shaw to his left, whilst his technical quality and vision on the ball provides that progressive presence from the back Louis van Gaal hoped Sergio Ramos or Mats Hummels would bring to United.
The 25 year-old has made 110 successful passes already this season, the most of any United player and the third-most of any Premier League centre-half after Swansea duo Ashley Williams and Federico Fernandez, 84% of which have been forward. To give some comparison, of Smalling’s 94 passes this term only 63% were towards the opposition’s goal.
Long term, however, there are obvious concerns. As a defensive unit, the Red Devils have been exemplary in the Premier League; they’re just one of three sides to claim clean sheets in both fixtures, have averaged the third-most tackles per match and the fifth most interceptions per match of any team, and have resultantly conceded the fewest shots – a miserly 14.
But after facing a lukewarm Tottenham side for the season’s opener and last Friday an Aston Villa outfit still coming to terms with the loss of Christian Benteke, they’re yet to be truly tested. Stopping the likes of Everton, Swansea City and Manchester City, three of the four top-scoring sides in the Premier League who United will all encounter before the end of October, might prove considerably more troublesome.
Likewise, Smalling has protected his wirier partner well in the opening clashes; Harry Kane’s aerial threat rarely came into play during Spurs’ visit to Old Trafford, whilst Rudy Gestede – the most prolific headerer in English football over the last two seasons with 20 headed goals – was kept equally subdued during his half-hour substitute appearance for Villa.
But if one of the Premier League’s most formidable target men, such as Chelsea’s Diego Costa, Liverpool’s Benteke, Southampton’s Graziano Pelle or Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud, isolated Blind to intentionally create a mismatch – especially at the far post – you can easily envisage an excruciating afternoon for the Dutch international. That applies to Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero as well; perhaps not a towering beast but as proved on Sunday against Chelsea, capable of making even the most resilient back six in the league look school-boyish ordinary.
Do I think United can have a good season with Blind at the back? Certainly. I also think he should be a regular in the Red Devils’ starting Xi regardless of position, purely due to how insightful, well-rounded and tactical a player he is. But can they win the league with the Dutchman as first choice next to Smalling? It would require either gross incompetence from the division’s top strikers or impeccable protection – especially in the air – from those around him.
Either way, we will have our answer by the end of October. In that time, Blind will face Bafetimbi Gomis, Benteke, Pelle, Giroud, Romelu Lukaku and Aguero in that precise order. If United are to be a major player in this season’s title race, the midfielder-come-defender must emerge from the other side, both metaphorically and physically speaking, without being earmarked as a weak link.
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