In his inaugural press conference as Manchester United boss, Louis Van Gaal stated that he would give the current squad three to four weeks to prove their worth. Only then would he be in a position to make decisions on transfers . True to his word, there has been little transfer activity from United ever since the signings of Ander Herrera and Luke Shaw, two long-standing United targets to which the manager simply rubber-stamped his approval, were completed towards the end of June. Now, though with the return of the manager and the squad from their pre-season tour, United transfer rumours are in complete overdrive once again as we head into the final few weeks of the transfer window. It is no secret that Van Gaal’s demand to play three at the back in a 3-4-1-2 formation (5-3-2 variation) has left the squad incredibly thin in terms of central defender options. With Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling as the club’s only senior center-backs (after the departures of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic in the summer), and with inexperienced reserve options such as Michael Keane, and Tyler Blackett, it is hardly surprising that United are in the market for at least one new center-back, if not two. Earlier reports suggested that United were in for Mats Hummels, Thomas Vermaelen and Stefan de Vrij as our principal targets. However, with little movement over the German World Cup winner, and with De Vrij already agreeing to join Lazio , Vermaelen, being left-footed, emerged as the prime target to operate as the left-sided center back in Van Gaal’s system, before United withdrew their interest and the Belgian close to joining Barcelona. Jones seems most favourite to play the role of a “stopper” through the center of defence, and right-footed Evans, who has seemingly impressed Louis Van Gaal, is poised to operate as right centre back (although he feels at home using his left foot too and hence, could play at left centre back as well). However, Manchester United have ended their interest in Arsenal’s club captain Thomas Vermaelen , after the London outfit accepted a bid of £15 million for the Belgian from FC Barcelona. Arsenal’s reluctance to sell to a direct rival in United, and United’s rejection of Arsenal’s “swap deal” counter-offer presumably for Chris Smalling according to some reports has been met with relief by some United fans. However, the problem remains the same. We are woefully short at the back. Enter new target for United according to Gazzetta , Mehdi Benatia who plays his trade in Italy with AS Roma. Benatia was seemingly a target of Manchester City and Chelsea all summer, only for City to edge closer to a £32 million deal for Mangala, while Chelsea appears to have pulled out . Roma will not be easy sellers to deal with, but there is a belief that they would be willing to part with the Moroccan for a fee in the region of €35 million (according to reliable journalist Di Marzio). Benatia was no doubt one of the most impressive centre backs in Europe last season. Across all five of Europe’s top leagues, Benatia boasted of the third-best performance score according to Squawka. In the Italian Serie A, Benatia ranked as the second-best center-back only behind Juventus and Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini. Benatia is an excellent all-round defender: strong in the tackle, good in the air and decisive in positioning. Despite playing for the Serie A runner-ups, Benatia made a total of 330 defensive actions (eighth highest in Serie A – all seven front- runners play for lesser teams) – 92 interceptions, 218 clearances and 20 blocked shots in 33 appearances according to Squawka. With Louis Van Gaal’s focus on defensive positioning, Benatia’s intelligence at making interceptions could prove vital. More impressive is the fact that the Moroccan made just one defensive error all season, which did not even lead to a goal, according to Squawka. The AS Roma defender can also put himself about, having won 55% tackles (one of the highest ratios of defenders in the Serie A), 63% of aerial challenges and 65% of take- ons, according to Squawka. Given Van Gaal’s preference for a ball-playing center-half, Benatia also boasts of an impressive passing accuracy of 89%. Add to that, his five goals for Roma and Benatia becomes the ideal signing for United to pursue, especially if the Reds are unable to sign Hummels. A significant caveat though, would be Benatia’s participation in the African Cup of Nations in January 2015 for Morocco during which he will be unable to feature for club football. Moreover, although agreeing a lucrative wage package should not be a problem, it remains to be seen whether Benatia would be willing to forego Champions League football with AS Roma to join Manchester United. If Ed Woodward does manage to deliver and clinch the deal, Benatia, being predominantly right-footed would also most likely slot in at the right side of defence, while Evans would move to a left- sided role. Given the lack of quality center-back options available on the transfer market at this time, Benatia could prove to be very shrewd acquisition. However, United will need to exercise quite a lot of financial muscle to pull this off.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 07:44:11 +0000
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