The exit of Namanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand from Manchester United is bound to leave a hole in the team’s defence. Vidic has moved to Inter Milan and Ferdinand has been informed by the United hierarchy that his contract which ran out at the end of last season would not be renewed. Both players had formed one of the strongest defence pairings in the Premier League. As replacement, United have been linked to a number of Europe’s top defenders with Joao Miranda of Atletico Madrid recently fueling speculations that United may have made discrete enquiries about him.
The 29-year –old defender who was left out of the Brazilian squad for the 2014 world cup has been in sparkling form for his club and together with Diego Godin, has formed what many have described as a water-tight defence partnership for the Diego Simeone’s side which won the La Ligaand lost out in the final of the Champions League to Real Madrid. He is an experienced defender who could possibly improve the quality of United’s defence which has now been left to the legs of Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling all of whom have not been in perfect form recently.
Multiple media outlets notably The Daily Mail have quoted the Atletico Madrid defender as saying that he has received multiple offers from across Europe "I have some offers and we are negotiating.I have offers from Spanish and English leagues and from some less important ones too.My agent is in Europe to decide my future; my buy-out fee at Atletico Madrid is €30million but that can be negotiated.” His words make no explicit mention of Manchester United, speculations in the media have linked him to United long before now. Perhaps, more information and transfer activities would follow this statement in coming days or weeks.
United certainly need to reinforce their defence but whether Miranda is the right man to do this is a question only new manager, Louis van Gaal can answer. Europe is not short of quality defenders and a manager of van Gaal’s experience sure knows this. At 29, Miranda may not hold a lot of attraction for United who have always preferred younger players. Bruno Martins Indi and Mats Hummels are younger alternatives that United have been linked with. Should it become difficult to land either or both of them, it is possible that van Gaal may look in the direction of Miranda. This is not to take anything from the quality defender who has proved his worth with 52 appearances for his side last season.
Considering Van Persie’s success at United, Miranda who is about the same age with him when he was signed, may downgrade the importance of the age theory in United’s transfer policy.
No comments:
Post a Comment