Michael Carrick has made a dream start as Man United head coach.placeholder image
Michael Carrick has made a dream start as Man United head coach. | AFP via Getty Images
Man United will need to address the forward line again in the summer, could they solve one problem with a pre-contract swoop?
There is no point Manchester United having a strong starting XI if the players who form the rest of the squad aren’t good enough.
Sir Alex Ferguson always had two first class players for each position and would regularly have internationals sitting on the bench or in the stands waiting for their chance to impress.
Phil Neville and Nicky Butt made almost 400 appearances each for United and yet neither would ever really be classed as starters in anyone’s chosen teams during their respective times at the club. That both would be starters now shows exactly where the Red Devils are presently at.
Man United have pre-contract solution for striker problem
The best example of this though, is in the forward line. During the historic treble winning season United had four top class strikers, all of which would start for the current team.
Michael Carrick would love to have a Teddy Sheringham or Ole Gunnar Solakjaer at his disposal now, and whoever takes charge in the summer, if Carrick doesn’t get the job permanently, should see this area of the park strengthened.
Significantly. Benjamin Sesko is doing ok, but ok doesn’t win titles. Ok doesn’t qualify for the Champions League. Especially not when £75m was paid for his services.
Transfer fees don’t always guarantee success of course and pre-contract agreements remain the best way to sign good players without testing the limits of PSR. United can’t talk to other Premier League players who are coming to the end of their contracts until a month before the end of the season, but they can speak to those overseas.
One player who falls under this category is the previously linked Dusan Vlahovic. At 6ft 2 inches tall he has the stature needed for the Premier League. He is also athletic for his height and not afraid to use his physique to bully defenders.
There will be games that Vlahovic doesn’t score, but there aren’t many games when the defenders walk off the pitch feeling like they have had it easy. The 26-year old has a good goal scoring record for a target man, 113 goals in 270 games during his time in Italy, and he would provide a different option to both Sesko and Bryan Mbeumo.
Having Vlahovic would mean being able to play Mbeumo on the left or the right and include another goal threat in the starting XI. With Gazzetta reporting that Chelsea and Newcastle are interested, United should jump the queue and sit down for talks with a player who has already intimated that Old Trafford is where he wants to be.
Vlahovic was offered to Man United
Speaking on his YouTube channel last summer, Fabrizio Romano reported that Vlahovic had been offered to United, however, they were distracted with a saga involving another player: “What I can tell you is, just to confirm, Vlahovic is expected to leave Juventus this summer. Vlahovic is not a key player for Juventus anymore. One year left on his contract, so Juventus are more than ready to let Vlahovic go.
“The player was offered to Manchester United. That’s why we had some stories and rumours. Vlahovic has been offered to Man United because he has to leave Juventus. It’s time for him to go and leave Juventus.
“But, at the moment, Manchester United are focused on Mbeumo and are not advancing on this deal for Dusan Vlahovic. They are aware of this possibility, he has been offered, but at this moment, to say that there is a negotiation for Vlahovic to Manchester United is something that I’m not aware of.”
If Vlahovic has been offered to United, it is because the player has told his agents to. Having missed out to their cost last year, United shouldn’t make the same mistake again.
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