Defensively the two aren't far apart either and dovetail on various related statistics. Maddison makes more tackles per game but Grealish wins more interceptions. Grealish is also better in the air and more likely to block opposition shots.

The key difference between the two, and the one that should sway United's transfer team, can't be measured in numbers. Grealish is club captain at Aston Villa, and for a team desperate for on-pitch leaders, represents the better choice.

Having the right mentality

Maddison has six goals and three assists in 24 matches this season, some way short of the numbers United would be keen to spend north of £50million for, and has created one more chance than Grealish's 64 despite playing in a team occupying third in the table, with the Aston Villa midfielder scoring seven and assisting five goals in 23 matches for a side facing relegation.

Liverpool's model of signing players at a similar developmental stage in their careers is the template many are now keen to follow. Solskjaer wants his dressing room stocked with players with a point to prove, not those who may treat a move to United - and all the riches it entails - as the pinnacle of their career and Grealish going to United would represent a significant step up. Maddison's would be a sideways move, another potentially decisive factor in any potential transfer.

The signing of Odion Ighalo on deadline day might not have inspired United fans particularly but his willingness to take a pay cut in order to take a "dream" chance at Old Trafford is precisely what the manager needs to restore a winning culture in the dressing room. Ighalo's presence, enthusiasm and work rate could do more long-term good for the squad than a self-interested goalscorer happy to pick up inflated wages.

Both Maddison and Grealish would cost a tidy penny, the pressure of which raises expectations that plenty of big names have failed to live up to. Maddison is doing well at a mid-size club but has similar key statistics to Daniel James (three goals, six assists vs Maddison's six goals and three assists) and if he weren't able to produce more in a struggling side, the transfer could quite quickly be questioned. Conversely, Grealish has been churning out better numbers for an inferior team he carries on his shoulders.

Grealish's determination to succeed at a higher level and the depth of dependency his teammates have on him suggest he is not only ready for the move but would revel in it. He is the exact sort of player that United need.