Red Rants |
- United back in the hunt for £15m midfielder?
- United linked with yet another World Cup star
- What can United expect under Louis Van Gaal?
- Evra’s Serie A move imminent
| United back in the hunt for £15m midfielder? Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:39 AM PDT
Galatasaray’s president Unal Aysal recently revealed that the Dutchman’s contract includes a €20m release clause and that the Turkish club will not stand in Sneijder’s way, should the clause be triggered.
“Sneijder is a good player,” Aysal said at press conference organised for the unveiling of Galatasaray’s new manager, Cesare Prandelli. “We want to keep him at Galatasaray. “If Galatasaray receive an offer of 20 million euros, we do not have the luxury of saying no. That is stipulated in the contract. All I can say is that if any club pays us 20 million euros and he wants to go, we can’t force him to stay because it is written in the contract.” In case you’ve taken refuge on Mars since 2009, let us quickly sum up what you might have missed about the Dutch playmaker: having been told he was surplus to requirements at Real Madrid after just two seasons at the club, Sneijder moved to Inter Milan five years ago, inspiring the Neroazzurri to their first ever Treble in his debut season, before he then dragged Holland to the World Cup final in 2010. Having just sold Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid, United were looking for a big name to replace the Portuguese with but Fergie’s reluctance for signing a ball-playing midfielder meant a fraction of the £80m Real paid for Ronaldo were re-invested on Antonio Valencia, while Michael Owen signed as free agent. With United growing increasingly desperate for a playmaker and Sneijder, who had signed for Inter Milan for €15m – less than a half of what United would pay for Marouane Fellaini four years later – becoming disenchanted with life in Serie A, the Dutchman has been almost constantly linked with a move to Old Trafford. His decision to join Galatasaray in January looked puzzling for a player of his talent, but some of his performances at the World Cup this summer did little to dismiss the doubts that the Dutchman might have lost some of his touch. However, Louis Van Gaal is a known admirer of the 30-year-old and just over a month ago Sneijder admitted an offer from the United manager would be hard to turn down. “I am happy at Galatasaray, I have established myself at the club and have settled in,” the Holland number 10 said. “However, if Van Gaal were to make me an offer, I would have to at least consider it. Nobody from the Netherlands can simply reject Van Gaal. “In the Netherlands, Van Gaal is something like the head teacher of a school. Not everyone is lucky enough to get into his good books. He trains his players very hard, and always expects the highest standards.” With Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Adnan Januzaj all capable to operate in Sneijder’s position, a bid for the Dutchman looks unlikely as things stand, even though €20 – £15m – might seem like an appealing price-tag. Dan |
| United linked with yet another World Cup star Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:23 AM PDT
Perez was one of the stars of the show in last nights semi-final between LvG’s Netherlands and Perez’s Argentina. The Red Devils are hoping to finalize the deal before the World Cup ends this weekend, in which Perez is set to be starting in the final for Argentina.
The 28-year-old had a brilliant season with Portuguese side Benfica and is set to leave during the summer with United being one of several clubs interested in his services. Valencia and Lazio have previously had offers turned down but United are apparently convinced they will be able to land their man for a reported £7million as they wait for the Primeira outfit to sanction negotiations. Perez made 46 appearances for Benfica last season, scoring five goals and has had a huge impact on his country’s successful run to the World Cup final on Sunday. RedRants opinion? It seems a little convenient (yet again) how reports surface about our interest in a player the morning after a fantastic performance. At 28 he would need to be the finished article but, on last night’s performance alone, £7m would appear to be a bargain if he can deliver those performances on a consistent basis. Will we sign Perez? Is he really a target? I’m not convinced. |
| What can United expect under Louis Van Gaal? Posted: 10 Jul 2014 01:52 AM PDT
Since Van Gaal was appointed as David Moyes’ successor almost two months ago, we have spent hours, days even, reading about the 62-year-old’s achievements, every Holland training session has been scrutinised to fully understand his methods and every game has been analysed, in a bid to get a glimpse of the brand of football we can expect at Old Trafford come August 15th.
With the Oranje just one game away from concluding their World Cup campaign and United’s US tour less than two weeks away many of the questions will soon be answered, while a few new faces will hopefully be added. Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw represent an excellent start to the transfer window but United are still a couple of signings short of return to the level we had been used to. When Van Gaal was appointed, various pundits and journalists focused on his abrasive attitude, one which, according to them, could alienate press and players alike. As far as annoying the former category is concerned, Van Gaal should have nothing to fear and he’d indeed represent a welcome return to the Sir Alex Ferguson’s days when the press was a hindrance to be dealt with, rather than a tool through which win some sort of morale support, as was the case under Moyes. Van Gaal’s attitude to his players during the World Cup has been a contributing factor in Holland’s run to the semifinals, with Robin Van Persie, Arjen Robben and Dirk Kuyt among those voicing their respect and total commitment to the former Ajax manager. The Oranje camp was a happy one, wives and girlfriends were allowed in Holland’s hotel and the players took the pitch with a relaxed, concentrate mindset, a world away from last season’s United, in other words. Such was the total trust and belief in their manager, that every single one of Van Gaal’s decisions – replacing Robin Van Persie, the captain, against Mexico and bringing on Tim Krul sixty seconds before their penalty shootout against Costa Rica – was met with widespread approval. Van Gaal’s attitude towards Van Persie goes a long way in describing the 62-year-old’s approach. Alongside Arjen Robben, RVP is Holland’s best player and while his performances somewhat petered out after the group stages, he looked a different player from the one who had sulked his way through Moyes’ tenure at Old Trafford. Yet, for all the mutual appreciation Van Persie and his manager share, Van Gaal did not hesitate to replace him against Mexico, once he’d deemed him not fit to perform. Where Moyes admitted leaving an unfit Van Persie on the pitch because he feared the press backlash had he substituted the Dutchman, Van Gaal brought on Klaas Jan Huntelaar, who netted the winner. Coincidence? Perhaps, but Van Gaal’s proactivity hasn’t shone through merely through his substitutions.
The Holland manager changed his formation throughout the World Cup, in attempt to maximise the talent at his disposal in what is a good – potentially really good – but by no means great Holland team. Against Spain, Van Gaal abandoned his preferred 4-3-3 to adopt a 3-5-2 which ensured the Oranje had two extra men in midfield when in possession and two extra men in defence when defending, while he switched back to a 4-3-3 against Chile and even deployed a 4-4-2 formation as Holland were chasing the game against Mexico. Having laboured through a season of reactive football where the mantra was to “make things difficult” for their opponents, United can now look forward to embrace a proactive approach, one in which ball retention and movement are essential as is tactical flexibility. While Van Gaal has always placed emphasis on attacking football, to describe him as one who would sacrifice results to please the aesthetes is rather wide of the mark, for, as he demonstrated against Argentina, the 62-year-old is more than happy to transform his blitzkrieg approach into a war of trenches, if needs be. Against Chile, Van Gaal opted for a 5-3-2 formation to limit Chile’s offensive threat and was criticised by Dutch legend Johan Cruyff for not playing “the Dutch way” and when a journalist quizzed him about his perceived defensive approach, the barbed response came. “Since you’re so clever, why don’t you define attacking football for me?” barked Van Gaal. How United will set up next season remains to be seen and Van Gaal’s plans might indeed change depending on the players Ed Woodward might or might not be able to sign in the remaining two months of the transfer window, but the Dutchman has shown few managers are better than him at maximising a player’s potential. At Ajax and Bayern Munich as well as with Holland, Van Gaal’s ability in nurturing young talents has been bettered only by his bravery for throwing them at the deep end of the pool, often defying logic and public opinion. In Adnan Januzaj, James Wilson and Nick Powell, United have talents that need polishing, while Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck will be expected to finally step up and establish themselves as key figures within the team and working under Van Gaal could either make them or break them. Van Gaal often tends to fit one of his systems to the players rather than vice-versa, which could mean United might begin the season with a rather familiar looking 4-2-3-1, with Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Januzaj behind Van Persie. The prospect of watching United dashing forward and putting opponents to the sword is tantalising but the former Ajax, Barcelona and Bayern Munich manager knows football is a result-driven business and it might take a gradual transition for United before combining style with results. Strap yourselves on, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride. |
| Posted: 09 Jul 2014 06:35 AM PDT
Evra had recently signed a 12-month extension but his wife’s desire to leave Manchester coupled with Juventus’ offer of two-year deal worth £55,000-a-season look to have convinced the 33-year-old that it’s time to bring the curtain down on his United career after a eight and half stint at Old Trafford.
Having signed Luke Shaw from Southampton, United were keen for Evra to provide cover for the former Southampton left-back as well as act as a mentor for the 19-year-old, but the Frenchman is now set to join the Serie A champions who, unlike United, are granted to offer him a regular spot in the starting XI as well as Champions League football. With Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand also leaving the club and Ryan Giggs retiring, after Evra’s departure United will have lost some 2,000 appearances and the huge lack of experience in the squad could well prove to be one of the main issues Louis Van Gaal will have to address if he’s to bring United back to the summit of English football. Having begun his career in Italy with spells at Marsala and Monza, Evra then moved to Monaco, club from which he joined United in January 2006 for a mere £5m. Despite enduring a nightmare debut in United’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester City, Evra soon established himself as a regular in United’s starting XI and went on to become one of the club’s best ever left-backs, collecting five Premier League titles, three League Cups, the Champions League and the FIFA Clubs’ World Cup during his nine seasons at Old Trafford. Over the last couple of years, however, the Frenchman has become a defensive liability and while still a threat going forward and still revered by the majority of fans, the feeling was that United needed a new left-back as part of their long-awaited overhaul. |
Reports in the Metro this morning suggest Manchester United have launched a £7million offer for Benfica star, Enzo Perez.
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