Manchester United have been searching wildly for their next playmaking central midfielder during this summer's transfer window. With Paul Scholes retirement at the end of last season, the club had a serious void to fill in the center of their attack, and the search was on.
After nearly a full month and a half of searching for his replacement during this summer, who will it be? Who will take over the mantle of midfield maestro in Sir Alex Ferguson's squad?
The answer: We're not quite sure yet. Yep, you read that right; the club still hasn't figured out who their starting midfielder will be alongside Michael Carrick in the center next season.
Two of the likeliest candidates from outside the club remain Inter's Wesley Sneijder and Palermo star Javier Pastore. Both have been linked to moves to Old Trafford, and while they cost �35 and �45 million respectively, both would make fantastic additions to the club. They're both dynamic playmakers with a flair for the spectacular, a nose for goal and a penchant for creating chances for teammates.
However, United have yet to make a real offer for Sneijder, while their bid for Pastore fell well beneath the Sicilian club's price tag for his services. So, they've turned to more local options, in Tottenham star Luka Modric and Arsenal's pint-sized playmaker.
Both players would more than adequately fill the void for the Red Devils in their midfield, even if neither one is actually, well, available from their current clubs. Neither Spurs nor Arsenal have any desire to sell their talented midfield maestros, so while United have bid on their services, they have little to no chance of actually succeeding.
United have bid on a few other potential midfield talents, but none are more intriguing than the potential setup Ferguson could have using players already on his roster. While none of the others in United's fold could play Scholes' role by themselves at this point, Ferguson could swap them in and out of the lineup to get something close to the same level of play.
After all, Anderson is a skilled ball-handler and passer, and while his shooting touch is shaky at best, he's still a solid option at the position. He could still develop into the kind of player United were sure they had when they signed him, as he's only 23, and as long as he's healed from the cruciate ligament injury suffered last season, there's plenty of potential there.
On top of that, former left winger Ryan Giggs, the seemingly ageless wonder from Wales, may not be capable of holding up on the wing over the course of a full season, but when Ferguson moved him into the middle last season, he was sensational. If he can bring that kind of skill to the pitch again next year, United can wait at least another season before grabbing their next playmaker in the center of the midfield.
In the end, it's virtually impossible to say for sure what Ferguson plans to do at the center of his midfield next season, as the venerable manager hasn't said much of his plans at this stage. For all we know, he could be planning to use newly acquired winger/attacking midfielder Ashley Young in the central attacking role, allowing him to start both Nani and Antonio Valencia on the wing. The mind boggles with possibilities, but odds are good, we'll learn plenty about the plans for the position in the coming weeks.
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