From INEOS with love: Man Utd must free Thuram from Nice misery

Tom Weber

• 24 Feb 2024 14:52 CST
• 5 min read

Khephren Thuram was one of OGC Nice's best players last term.

The young French midfielder was an undroppable player for the Ligue 1 side last term, starring regularly under Lucien Favre and Didier Degard. However, a ninth-placed finish was not good enough for ambitious owners INEOS and up-and-coming Italian boss Francesco Farioli was hired in the summer.

The 34-year-old is regarded as one of the brightest minds in football and he certainly showed as much when he had Nice sitting in second for much of the season prior to a recent slump. Farioli's pragmatic approach is built on a solid defensive foundation, with the southern French side boasting one of the best backlines in Europe's top five leagues.

This style of play comes at a cost, however. Nice have scored the third-fewest goals in the French top flight, having netted just 22 times so far this term, the same number as relegation-battling Toulouse. One of the biggest victims of Farioliball has been Khephren Thuram.

Thuram shackled

Usually an all-action midfielder with a lovely creative streak, Thuram has been shackled by the Italian's style of play and is still without a goal contribution this season. By comparison, the 22-year-old notched two goals and four assists last term and four goals and three assists the year before.

His performances in 2022/23 earned the towering midfielder links to Liverpool and Man Utd, but there has been a noticeable downturn in his form this time around. Indeed, this was recently a topic of discussion in the media and had to be addressed by club captain Dante.

"We’ve gotten used to him playing great matches that when he is a step below, we see it. He’s had injuries, and lost his rhythm a little, he needs time. He’s still a young player but we need him. He must regain his athletic level above all. But for him to be better, we all have to help him in aggressiveness and technical accuracy so that he can show more of his qualities.”

More recently, Thuram has been linked with Arsenal, but as FootballTransfers previously explained, the Frenchman would be well advised to snub interest from the Gunners and Liverpool. According to data experts SciSports, he would not be a good fit in north London and on Merseyside.

According to the latest information provided by SciSports' Career Advice tool, the French international's ideal next club would be Man Utd. A move would make sense on multiple levels.

Thuram ideal for Man Utd

First of all, the struggling Red Devils are in need of midfield reinforcements. While not a holding midfielder in the traditional sense, Thuram is an adept ball-winner and could fill the role of Casemiro, with whom age is catching up.

Alternatively, he could become the Red Devils' creative midfielder, with club captain Bruno Fernandes currently in the midst of the least productive season of his Man Utd career and the subject of frequent links to Saudi Arabia.

SciSports give Man Utd a whopping Club Fit rating of 87 for Thuram, followed by the likes of AS Roma, Man City, Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta. The 22-year-old is deemed an ideal fit in all departments with the only exception potentially being the formation used by Erik ten Hag.

Nice usually use a flatter three-man midfield without a recognised number ten, whereas Ten Hag's midfielders have clearly defined roles, with one ball-winner, one shuttler and one creator. However, given the huge rating SciSports offer the Red Devils, this seems to be a relatively minor issue.

Finally, of course, there is the INEOS connection. The fact that both clubs are owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe's firm makes negotiations straightforward and gives Man Utd a massive advantage over Thuram's other suitors.

The Red Devils would still have to pay a pretty penny for a player whose Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) peaked at €26.8 million last term before slumping in light of his recent underwhelming performances, but the money would obviously stay in-house. The son of World Cup winner Lilian Thuram could become one of the faces of the INEOS rebuild at Old Trafford.