At the fulcrum of Manchester United’s 4-0 trouncing of Queens Park Rangers on Sunday was a quietly commanding display from Daley Blind.

One four-goal victory over an insipid QPR does not guarantee a Champions League finish. Yet the opening evidence from Old Trafford is that behind the galácticos pack of Radamel Falcao, Ángel di María, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata, Louis van Gaal may have acquired a long-needed midfield general.

Blind is not in the Roy Keane mode of a snarling totem whose will insists actors follow his script. The Dutchman is more passive-aggressive, a Michael Carrick-type who among the fury of central areas was the silent conductor incessantly prompting United forward.

From the opening moments Blind hovered around the centre circle to take possession; he gave simple balls and made himself available to do it all again. The 24-year-old’s final count was 112: a fine return on his debut, and the fifth highest by any player this Premier League season.

“I was really excited before the game,” he said. “It was a really good debut which I really enjoyed and the fans were amazing. Everything has gone well. I had a good week of training and everyone has been really nice and open, and given me a great welcome. I felt at home straight away.”

Blind looked it. The £14m buy from Ajax in the closing days of the transfer window coasted through the match in pipe-slippers-and-bedtime-story fashion, doing what Fernandinho does at Manchester City, Nemanja Matic at Chelsea and Jordan Henderson at Liverpool: allow the A-listers to dazzle.

By half-time Van Gaal’s side were 3-0 ahead. Di María, Ander Herrera, whose tackle-count (eight) and complete passes (77) was more than he managed in a single game last year in La Liga, and Rooney had all registered.

United continued the blitz in the second half as Mata scored his eighth goal in 10 league matches for the club, and QPR were fortunate to escape without a more serious hiding.

As their manager, Harry Redknapp, said: “That is what you are looking at. You don’t come out second half and say: ‘We will attack them, stick two up front and see if we will win 4-3.’ Especially at a place like this. We just didn’t have that cutting edge to cause them enough problems.”

The statistic Van Gaal and his squad may feast on this week as they prepare to travel to Leicester City for Sunday’s early fixture is a pass completion of 91%, the highest for any side in any league match this season.

That they achieved this over a poor QPR side remains the caveat. But a Blind-less United were sluggish and unconvincing in the 0-0 draw against another of this season’s promoted sides, Burnley, in their previous performance.

Suddenly the men in red shirts looked a team. They have barely done so in the year-long nightmare since Sir Alex Ferguson retired and David Moyes replaced him. This was the first time that the club whose recent history was built on a proud attack-attack-attack philosophy had managed three first-half attempts before the interval since 22 April 2013, the game that sealed United’s last championship.

“It is a new team and it can be difficult at first but I think we did well,” Blind said. “Everybody is feeling good and everyone helped each other when we lost the ball. It’s important that we do that as quickly as possible when we lose it. That is the manager’s philosophy. We did a good job as a team. This is a new beginning and we’re looking forward to the next game.”

United’s supporters will now look forward to the trip to Leicester and to seeing how Van Gaal will assemble his players as more players vie for inclusion. The unused £27m substitute, Luke Shaw, is one who may look at Marcos Rojo’s display at left-back and wonder how and when he may be handed his debut, as the manager decides whether to stick with the four-man defence that kept a clean sheet, or revert to the so far unsuccessful 3-5-2.

Blind’s name is probably being written into the starting XI for Sunday already. How United have yearned for another metronomic midfielder who can establish the rhythm of the team and take the strain off Carrick in the centre.

The star-studded front-line of Di María, Falcao et al may be in the bright lights. But Blind is the man who can allow them to dazzle.