Wednesday, 16 April 2014

Red Rants

Red Rants

United confident of landing England international

Posted: 16 Apr 2014 01:29 AM PDT

luke_shawSouthampton’s left-back Luke Shaw could be David Moyes’ first signing of the summer, with reports suggesting that United are confident to clinch a deal, thought to be worth around £30m, for the 18-year-old England international.

Shaw has been hugely impressive for Southampton this season, winning his first England cap and forcing himself into contention for a place in the World Cup squad, all while emerging as one of the brightest talents in English football and attracting interest from a host of big clubs.

With United’s defence in desperate need of a major revamp after Nemanja Vidic has already agreed to join Inter Milan, while Patrice Evra and Rio Ferdinand are also expected to depart, Shaw would represent a major coup for United, particularly if they managed to beat Chelsea in the race for the 18-year-old’s services.

Shaw is a boyhood Chelsea fan and has never denied that he’d be delighted to move to South West London, while Chelsea have more than once made clear that they see the Southampton’s left-back as the long-term replacement for Ashley Cole and Cesar Azpilicueta.

Both players could theoretically give United the edge in the race to Shaw, claims the Telegraph, given that the 18-year-old would not be guaranteed first team football were he to choose Stamford Bridge as his preferred destination. United, on the other hand, risk to be left with Alexander Buttner as their only left-back if Evra is indeed allowed to go in the summer and Shaw would be pretty much guaranteed a spot in the starting XI.

Ed Woodward seems determined to clinch at least one deal before the World Cup kicks off in June, a strategy that sounds strangely intelligent by United’s standards, given that some players could see their price rocket through the roof, should they impress in Brazil.

Interestingly enough, there are suggestions that Woodward is determined to do business regardless of Moyes, rather than because of him, which won’t do an awful lot to placate the rumours that want the United manager’s future under massive scrutiny.

Signing Shaw and possibly another player before the World Cup would indeed be a major statement of intent from United, but one can’t help thinking that any excitement generated by the arrival of new players would almost immediately be quashed by the notion that Moyes would likely struggle to get the best of out of them, much as he has done with Juan Mata so far.

Dan

Huge wages the key to United’s target?

Posted: 16 Apr 2014 12:50 AM PDT

rp_Toni-Kroos-3088232-200x200.jpgManchester United are set to offer £260,000-a-week to Toni Kroos, in an attempt to lure the German international away from the Allianz Arena this summer, after David Moyes has realised that his already uncertain future could be under even more intense scrutiny if he fails to secure world class signings.

Kroos has been on United’s radar for a while, and even though it was largely thought he had used Moyes’ interest simply to earn himself a better contract at Bayern Munich, according to reports in the German press over the last few days, the 24-year-old is now considering his options, before deciding whether to extend his current deal with the European champions, which expires in 2015.

The Guardian suggested yesterday that while Moyes is fully aware of the difficulties involved in prising Kroos away from Bavaria, particularly given that Bayern Munich have maintained throughout the last couple of months that the midfielder is not for sale, but the United manager seems convinced that if Kroos is determined to leave the club, then the deal could go through.

A contract worth £260,000-a-week would make Kroos one of the highest paid players at the club, alongside Robin Van Persie and not too far from Wayne Rooney’s £300,000-a-week salary, but even with an astronomical contract it remains hard to see as to why a player plying his trade for Bayern Munich would want to swap a title winning machine for a side that might not even clinch a Europa League spot this season.

The German champions on Monday secured the signing of Sebastian Rode from Eintracht Frankfurt on a four-year deal and while Rode is a defensive midfielder by trade, he can also be deployed further up the pitch and Pep Guardiola’s decision to bring an extra midfielder could perhaps pave the way for an high-profile departure.

However, while Kroos might indeed decide to leave Bayern Munich, even a superb financial package might no be enough to convince him to join United. Were Kroos to decide to part ways with the Bavarians, he’s likely to attract attention from Europe’s elite, including a lot of clubs that are in better shape than United and would be able to match their contract offer.

Over to you, David and Ed. Money better do the talking this summer.

 

United close in on deal for £35m midfielder

Posted: 15 Apr 2014 07:47 AM PDT

carvalhoReports  today suggest that Manchester United have agreed a deal worth £35m for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho, which will bring the defensive midfielder to Old Trafford after the World Cup, as David Moyes looks to bolster his options in the middle of the park.

United have scouted Carvalho intensely this season and the 22-year-old was also on the radar of a host of other top European clubs – including Liverpool, Monaco, Inter Milan and Real Madrid – but talkSPORT suggests that Ed Woodward has managed to get his man this time around – as indeed had the Mirror a few weeks ago –  after failing spectacularly with bids for Ander Herrera and Cesc Fabregas last season.

The Sporting Lisbon midfielder, who will feature at the World Cup in June, is expected to sign a five-year deal, though the deal will not be made official until July.

Carvalho, who could become the third player to join United after graduating from Sporting’s famed academy, has been impressive this season, demonstrating the sort of maturity normally associated with players a couple of years his senior, with the 22-year-old becoming Sporting’s main man in midfield.

The Angolan-born midfielder – who stands at of 6'2" tall and weighs close to 14 stone and is not afraid of using his frame to win the ball back – is normally deployed in front of the back four, but can also play further up the pitch in a central midfield role, a position he’s already occupied for both club and country – Carvalho has already earned a senior cap with Portugal, after becoming a pivotal figure in the U21 side.

Carvalho, as the Mirror’s Tom Kundert noted a couple of months ago, is still not the finish article as “his distribution is occasionally wayward and largely unambitious, preferring the sideways pass to a more vertical approach” and tends “to pick up yellow cards on a frequent basis.”

However, despite Caravlho’s huge potential, United’s decision to spend £37m – thus triggering the player’s release clause – will leave room for some scepticism, for that amount of money could have been spent on a midfielder of proven quality and already established in one of Europe’s top leagues.

On the other hand, if Carvalho does live up to his potential, Moyes could have grabbed himself an excellent deal given the Portuguese has still more than a decade of football ahead of him.
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