Date: 27th March 2011 at 12:30pm
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Paul Scholes has been a lynchpin at Manchester United for almost two decades now, but as he enters the autumn of his career the search for his long-term replacement at Old Trafford must begin in earnest.

Whilst there’s something to be said for the likes of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick, most United fans would argue that neither has the creativity, steeliness and competitive drive that Scholes had at the peak of his game.

Bastian Schweinsteiger has long been touted as Scholes’ long-term replacement, but given Manchester United’s financial situation, I can’t see United making a move for a player as costly as Bastian any time in the near future. United are going to have look at youth.

As such, I’d like to put foward German-born, Turkish footballer Nuri Sahin, who currently plies his trade for Borussia Dortmund up for consideration. Whilst Sahin may only be 22 years of age, he made his debut in the Bundesliga at just 16-years-old and has racked up an impressive 129 appearances in the German League. To have such experience at such a young age is no mean feat.

He’s the playmaker in the centre of Borussia Dortmund’s midfield with a knack for making direct, quick passes to player’s feet and generally carving opposition sides in two. Evidence of Sahin’s incredible passing game can be found in the video below.

His vision, passion and touch are reminiscent of Scholes at his best. His talent and ability have had pundits salivating at the mouth already this season – with many claiming that he’s been better than Schweinsteiger. High praise.

There’s every chance that Nuri Sahin will make a move away from Borussia Dortmund in the summer (whether it will be to United however, remains to be seen). There will certainly be offers from top clubs for the youngster. Yet, even if he decides to stay at the German side for another season, we will see him in next season’s UEFA Champion’s League – something that is sure to cement his position as one of the most exciting youngsters in the game.

Without further ado, take a look at Nuri Sahin’s one-man demolition job of Bundesliga team Wolfsburg:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Piece taken from This Is Futbol and courtesy of Harry Cloke

 

23 responses to “The young maestro to fill the gap in our midfield?”

  1. ManUtd #1 (Chicharito is a future ManUtd legend) says:

    Dont need him, we have Manchester United wonderkid and future world class superstar TOM CLEVERLEY. I for one can not wait to see Tom playing next season, he has always done well when playing in the youth system or on pre-season with United and done well on loans at Watford, Leicester and Wigan. I enjoyed watching Tom’s brilliant performances on the 2010 USA Tour and I know for a fact that he is a Manchester United star ready to blow the opposion away. It is Tom Cleverleys time to shine at United.

  2. ManUtd #1 (Chicharito is a future ManUtd legend) says:

    Tom Cleverley will destroy the opposition, he is that good. Tom can play as a midfielder or a winger and is a goal scorer, he haves great ability on the ball and can single handely take players out the game with his movement and touch, anyone who has seen Cleverley knows that he belongs at United and will play a massive role in our quest for silverware next season.

  3. ManUtd #1 (Chicharito is a future ManUtd legend) says:

    Tom Cleverley will destroy the opposition, he is that good. Tom can play as a midfielder or a winger and is a goal scorer, he haves great ability on the ball and can single handely take players out the game with his movement and touch. Anyone who has seen Cleverley knows that he belongs at United and will play a massive role in our quest for silverware next season.

  4. Ryan says:

    If this kid Sahin plays like this most games – dear god go get him. What a passer, and a creative type we really need! wow.

  5. zack says:

    Tom has a great potential in him…but according to video above, i think Sahin is worth a buy…
    Wheb i wacthed that vid, my mind starts to think that its will be great if Sahin could play alongside Chicharito…
    His long and short pass are superb, wich i didnt see that in Tom…

  6. dj says:

    ive been following sahin for about 4 yrs now. hes been good for a while but seems to have matured this season and found his goal scoring touch as well.

    cleverly is good on the goal scoring side but his alround game is lacking. i remember watching that usa tour and despite getting a couple goals, he lost possession quite a lot.

    to all those saying cleverly is the central midfield answer i think your a bit naive. Sahin is a creator and can score, cleverly is just a finisher at the moment and would only be used on the wings atm i feel

  7. jonathan says:

    Wow, I’d mostly just heard about him, but actually watching this vid and seeing his long-range passing has moved him up in my queue of desired players. Certainly one to have serious consideration during the summer. The fact that all those highlights are from the same game speaks volumes about his ability.

    I’d also agree that Cleverley’s future would be largely unaffected if Sahin arrived. Cleverley is much more positioned as an attacking player and I’ve not witnessed too much strength in his long-range passing.

  8. Marlowe says:

    i like him better than the alexi sanchez character that sir alex has been looking out. His vision and through balls are insanely good

  9. james holden says:

    Wow. I’ve only heard good things about him, his ability is definitely what we need. He reminds me of fabregas, iniesta and xavi combined. He can also tackle! Sign him up Fergie, we need him!

  10. HV says:

    whats wrong with buying Nuri Sahin and have Tom at the same time..? with Manchester United having all these matches in EPL, Champions League FA cup and Carling cup..fatigue is also an issue…so having the midfield with Anderson, Sahin, Tom, Fletch, Carrick(if in form), Park and Giggs who can both play there…our midfield wuld be good.
    What we really really need is to have a left MID