The Manchester Evening news – who usually appear to have solid inside sources at Manchester United – report that Kevin Strootman remains their number one target for the midfield this summer.
Juventus gem Paul Pogba has been persistently linked with a move back to the club that sadly sold him in 2012 for about the price of a bag of chips in Wilmslow. And the recent set back in the injury nightmare of Strootman has led many to believe that he is now off the radar, as Manchester United search for their next midfield general.
But MEN reckons that Strootman is still the man for Manchester United:
It’s not a straightforward move. Even if he does recover soon Strootman will need 20 games to get back into his stride after such a long time out of the game. With no international tournaments in the summer those 20 games would have to come at Manchester United, who could ill afford another stuttering start to their league campaign.
Conversely, while Pogba is a marvellous footballer, he is perhaps someone who is best suited to a role further up the park than Strootman. But Louis van Gaal is possibly looking for a successor to Michael Carrick in a 4-3-3 – a player who can marshall the defence and ping beautiful long range passes to his forwards. While Pogba can do this, his natural urge seems to be to get forward and play high up the park.
We’d love to see Pogba back at Old Trafford but, if fit, Strootman may be a more suitable signing for Manchester United.
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