Manchester United fans would be forgiven for getting excited about latest reports which suggest that the club will follow Real Madrid’s transfer policy over the coming windows.
Widespread reports stated that Louis van Gaal will be given an open chequebook to continue the rebuild of Manchester United – money is apparently no object. The Guardian said:
Manchester United are planning another summer transfer splurge after this year’s £150m spend, with Real Madrid being viewed as the model for a strategy to recruit an elite player for every position in Louis van Gaal’s squad.
Manchester United fans want an entertaining and winning team. But there is one element of this story which will seriously concern some. The same source reports:
The Dutchman is targeting Roma’s Kevin Strootman, who would cost around £30m, Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels who may be priced up to £35m, Atlético Madrid’s Diego Godín – in the region of £25m – Barcelona’s Dani Alves, for around £15m, and may potentially move for Arjen Robben, with the Bayern Munich winger costing no less than £40m (€50.5m).
The bit that troubles us is the part about Arjen Robben. He’s a truly wonderful player and one of the stand out members of Brazil 2014. He would surely be near the top of many a defender’s list of players they would least like to face. Robben is lightning fast and has such great control of the ball that he’s almost unplayable.
But the report suggests that Manchester United are perhaps willing to part with around 50m Euros for his services. Surely this is a step too far?
We are all for Louis spending big bucks on young stars who can offer long-term service to a project and have sell on value should things not work out. But Robben will be 31 in January and, when you factor in wages, it’s going to be a 70m Euro plus investment for a player who only has 3 years left at the top if he’s lucky. His pace will surely suffer over the next year or two as well.
We would love to have seen Robben at Manchester United in his mid-twenties. But it would be a gross mismanagement of funds to make this sort of move.
Manchester United fans: should the club be investing in younger players or would you be happy to sign Robben?
