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18th Feb 2017

Paul Scholes picks the perfect replacement for Michael Carrick at Manchester United

He'd be "perfect next to Pogba and Ander Herrera at United"

Robert Redmond

Paul Scholes clearly has an eye for a player.

Manchester United have a tough task at the end of the season. It looks like Michael Carrick will leave the club after 11 years, as he has yet to be offered a new deal.

The 35-year-old, despite having numerous doubters, has had a brilliant career at Old Trafford, and has been an integral part of the team’s success over the past decade.

United will need to find another midfielder who can dictate the team’s play, and it’s difficult to disagree with Scholes’ suggestion.

The former United midfielder has said Toni Kroos would be the ideal replacement for Carrick. Scholes also said that, towards the end of his career, he based his own game on the German midfielder.

“I really like Toni Kroos,” Scholes told German magazine Kicker.

“When I neared the end of my career, I followed him closely and tried to play like Kroos.

“I was a midfielder with an eye for the goal, but Kroos is one of the best midfield masterminds in the world. Kroos would be perfect at United next to (Paul) Pogba and Ander Herrera.”

Kroos was reportedly close to joining United in 2014, before he signed for Real Madrid from Bayern Munich. David Moyes, the then-United manager, even said that the club had agreed a deal with the player.

However, Louis van Gaal replaced Moyes and reportedly pulled out of the deal because he wasn’t convinced by the German midfielder.

The 27-year-old joined Madrid instead, and has since won the Champions League.

It would take a lot to get Kroos to leave the Spanish side, but there’s no doubt he would be the ideal replacement for Carrick at Old Trafford.

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