Although Manchester United are beginning to get their fear factor back, they are patently still a work in progress. The midfield 4 is almost unrecognisable form last season with Blind, Herrera, Di Maria and Rooney making the first choice diamond.
Blind has done well at the base of the midfield and with Carrick to come back the anchor man options grow. But you do feel that, sooner or later, Louis van Gall is going to buy a real monster for that role, especially if he persists with such an attacking midfield and only one defensive man in the engine room. Carrick and Blind are classy but they don;t have the charisma or ability to steam roller a game in the way that Kevin Strootman or Arturo Vidal do.
And The Daily Star reports Monday:
Man Utd set to offer Juan Mata to Juventus in bid to beat Real Madrid to Arturo Vidal
With Juan Mata struggling to make the team he could be used as a makeweight to bring the Vidal fee right down. With Adnan Januzal looking like the perfect future option at number 10 Mata’s long term chances of game time could also be slim.
So it looks like the perfect deal. But we wonder whether Louis van Gaal has switched his attention away from Vidal. The Chilean has had a good start to the season but perhaps Kevin Strootman is now his first choice for midfield general.
He doesn’t score goals at the same rate as Vidal but the feeling is that the Dutchman’s best is yet to come. At 24 he could play for 8 years at Manchester United. Vidal might be on the wane after 2 and his historic knee problems could further muddy the waters.
While Vidal is very much a player for the present, Strootman may be deemed a better investment.
But, let’s face it, Manchester United would be a better team with either in their line up.
United fans: who would you prefer?
saj
Oct 14, 2014 at 12:55 am
Id like william carvalho