Leicester pair Wilfried Ndidi and Youri Tielemans have been singled out for praise after their dominant performance against Manchester United in Sunday's FA Cup clash.
Leicester 3-1 Man United
On an afternoon when United looked second best throughout excepting the 38th minute, when Mason Greenwood netted an equaliser to make it 1-1, Ndidi and Tielemans stood out for the control and quality they provided in the middle of the park.
While Tielemans got on the scoresheet after drifting forward and dispatching a low shot past Dean Henderson, aided by Jamie Vardy's dummy run behind the United defence, Ndidi made three tackles and three interceptions, while completing 86% of his passes.
Laurie Whitwell's comments
Journalist Laurie Whitwell paid the Leicester pair a huge compliment in The Athletic's Red Devils discussion thread for Sunday's defeat.
As an unhappy fan complained about the lack of quality shown in United's own midfield, Whitwell responded by saying Ndidi and Tielemans would make a great midfield partnership for the Old Trafford outfit.
He said; "Ndidi and Tielemans would make a very good Man United midfield."
Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba and McFred
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer won't have any complaints about how Bruno Fernandes has performed this season. United's midfield maestro has racked up 16 goals and ten assists in the Premier League.
However, Paul Pogba has proved to be a bit more problematic for United. Despite his undoubted quality, the former World Cup winner lacks a clear-cut role in the Red Devils' engine room and tellingly started Sunday's clash on the left wing.
Holding midfielders Scott McTominay and Fred, meanwhile, have done a job this season but both showed their shortcomings against Leicester.
Fred mistakenly passed the ball to Kelechi Iheanacho for a simple tap-in during the first half, while the Nigerian's second goal owed much to McTominay misjudging a header at a set piece.
Summer transfer window
With agent Mino Raiola already stating Pogba wants to move on this summer, we could well see some changes to United's midfield in the next transfer window - although 2021/22 may prove to be the season that Donny van de Beek finally shows why Solskjaer brought him to the club at the beginning of this campaign.
Whether Ndidi or Tielemans are viable targets, however, remains to be seen. Their contracts don't expire until 2024 and 2023 respectively and Ndidi is the elder of the two at just 24, so ultimately Leicester are in a position to command big fees for both of them.
Back in 2018 Leicester squeezed £60m out of Man City for Riyad Mahrez and you'd imagine Ndidi or Tielemans could fetch a similar price if they're sold to a Premier League rival, like United.