The talents the incoming Old Trafford manager is looking to bring in this summer.
Manchester United’s new manager David Moyes had his first press conference as the club’s manager on Friday and although most of the talk centred on Wayne Rooney’s future at the club, Moyes will have his mind firmly set on the players that he can bring to Old Trafford to improve the Red Devils team. Here are five players that Moyes will look to sign this summer.
Leighton Baines- Everton
Moyes enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Baines during the pair’s time together at Everton. Baines was one of Moyes most trusted lieutenants on the pitch and was also a reliable and gifted left back that the Scottish manager could rely on. Many believed that Moyes would try and bring Baines to United once he is was settled in at Old Trafford and that is exactly what the Scot did. United submitted a bid to Everton of £12 million, which was quickly rejected by the Toffees. The club said that they don’t want to sell Baines for any price and think that a £12 million bid is a bit of an insult for a player who is currently challenging Ashley Cole for England’s left back position.
Moyes won’t give up that easily and reports suggest that he is ready to come in with an improved offer soon, thought to be around £15 million. However, that may still not be enough to sign the Englishman, with Everton only considering bids of around £20 million for Baines. Roberto Martinez wants to keep as much of his squad together as he plans for his first season as Everton manager and doesn’t want to lose one of his best players in Baines.
In fact, the Spaniard has said that he is considering giving Baines a new contract following his excellent performances for Everton last season. However, Moyes is desperate to bring Baines to Old Trafford and sees him as a long term replacement for Patrice Evra. The French left back is becoming more susceptible to injuries with age and many have said that the player may need replacing sooner rather than later. Reports have also suggested that Evra will look to leave Manchester United if the club are successful in signing Baines. The Englishman is one of Moyes top priorities this summer and will want to get his man but it is unknown just how much he is willing to spend on the left back, with many supporters thinking that £20 million is too much for Baines and that Moyes should not go any higher than £15 million while trying to sign the 28 year old.
Kevin Strootman- PSV Eindhoven
The Dutch midfielder has long been linked with a move to Manchester United and was targeted by Sir Alex Ferguson last summer. The Scot could have signed Strootman but decided to wait one more year before pursuing the midfielder. Now Ferguson has retired but Manchester United still remain interested. David Moyes is looking to strengthen the clubs midfield this summer, believing it is one of the areas of weakness in the Red Devils squad. Signing Strootman would certainly improve the clubs midfield, with the Dutchman being one of the most highly rated young midfielders in Europe at the moment. Strootman had an excellent European under 21 Championship with the Netherlands, where he captained his country to the semi-finals of the competition, with United scouts watching every game that he was involved in. He has already been earmarked as a leader of his country’s senior team, having captained the Netherlands during a World Cup qualifier against Romania. Leadership in midfield is something that United have missed since the days of Roy Keane and many have compared Keane’s style of play with Strootman.
The Red Devils have been looking for a replacement for Keane for many years now and many could see Strootman as the closest player there has been since the Irishman retired. Strootman is also thought to be interested in a move to Old Trafford and recently said that he would like to play in the Premier League at some point in his career. His current club PSV Eindhoven appear resigned to the fact that he will be leaving this summer but still want to cash in on him as much as possible. The Dutch club are thought to be demanding £15 million for the midfielder, which should be well within United’s price range. However, Moyes may have to conclude the deal quickly before other clubs start getting interested in the Dutch midfielder.
Thiago Alcantara- Barcelona
Thiago is one of the most highly rated young central midfielders in European football at the moment. He is a play-maker in the mould of Barcelona greats Xavi and Andres Iniesta. That type of player is something that Manchester United have been on the look out for, especially this summer since the retirement of United legend Paul Scholes. The Red Devils have missed someone who can pick a pass and unlock a top quality defence but they now believe that they have found a man that can do that for them in the form of Thiago.
The Spanish midfielder had an excellent European under 21 Championship for Spain, scoring a hat-trick in the final against Italy which Spain won. Thiago’s excellent performances attracted the interest of United and the Red Devils are hoping to bring the 22 year old to Old Trafford this summer. Thiago’s is understood to want to leave Barcelona because of the competition for places at the Nou Camp. Despite being such a fantastic prospect for the Catalan giants, Thiago hardly played last season and instead had to put up with a place on the bench as the likes of Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas strutted their stuff. Thiago believes that the situation is unlikely to get better this season and feels the only way he can be guaranteed first team football is by leaving the Nou Camp. The Spaniard is desperate to be a part of Spain’s squad for next summer’s World Cup and that will only happen if he is playing regularly.
Manchester United are willing to offer Thiago plenty of first team games and the midfielder is available at a very affordable price. Thiago has a clause in his contract at Barca that stated if he didn’t play enough last season his release clause would be lowered to around £15 million. This has now happened, meaning interested clubs only have to pay £15 million to sign the Spanish midfielder. Barcelona are desperate to hold onto one of their best young players but because of Thiago’s release clause, the Catalan giants have no control over Thiago’s future and reports suggest that Barca have given up in trying to persuade the midfielder to stay at the Nou Camp. United are front-runners for Thiago but aren’t the only team that are interested. Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich are also monitoring the situation. Guardiola gave Thiago his first run of games when he was Barcelona manager and is known to rate the 22 year old highly. United may need to move quickly to sign Thiago before Bayern become even more interested.
Ezequiel Garay- Benfica
The centre back has been on United’s radar for awhile now and reports have suggested that the Red Devils’s were in contact with Benfica about signing Garay about six months ago. The Argentine is one of the most highly rated centre backs in Europe at the moment even though he isn’t playing for one of the biggest clubs on the continent. That could change this summer if United do end signing one of their long term targets. Moyes wants to strengthen United’s defence this summer with Rio Ferdinand and Nemenja Vidic getting older and more prone to long term injuries. Vidic has only played 23 games for United last season and missed most of the 2011/2012 season due to a serious injury. United have missed Vidic every time he hasn’t been in the team and Moyes wants to make sure that a quality replacement is ready should the Serb not be available for many games this season.
There has even been talk that Moyes could sell Vidic because he believes the Serb is currently to injury prone, with AC Milan thought to be interested in the centre back. All of this will rest on whether or not the Red Devils are able to complete the signing of Garay, with Benfica thought to be ready to accept a bid of around £20 million for the Argentine. Rio Ferdinand recently signed a one year contract at United but it is unknown whether he will start many games for the club this season, meaning Garay could be one of the clubs first choice centre back’s should he make the move to Old Trafford. Moyes may decide to partner Garay with highly rated centre back Phil Jones, who despite starting many games last season, failed to nail down a spot at the heart of United’s defence. Garay and Jones could form a formidable centre back pairing that could form the spine of Moyes first team for many years to come.
Cristano Ronaldo- Real Madrid
Ronaldo is the dream signing for Manchester United and for David Moyes. When the Portuguese star moved to Madrid three years, many thought that they would never see the winger back at Old Trafford playing for United. However, their is more chance of that happening that anyone would have thought. Ronaldo is thought to be unsettled at the Spanish club and said that he was unhappy in the Spanish capital during an interview in October. He also recently said that he missed Manchester United and also missed playing in the Premier League. The winger also clearly enjoyed being back at Old Trafford during Madrid’s Champions League tie against United back in March.
Ronaldo scored one of Madrid’s goals that evening but failed to celebrate, showing how much respect he has for Manchester United. All of this is set against the backdrop of Ronaldo’s failure to sign a new contract at the Bernabeu. The Portuguese stars current contract runs until 2015 and Real Madrid are desperately trying to get Ronaldo to sign a contract extension. So far, the winger hasn’t and reacted angrily on Twitter when rumours spread that he had in fact signed a contract extension. Real Madrid don’t want to let Ronaldo leave the club during the peak years of career and certainly don’t want to see him leave the Bernabeu for free in two years time. All of this has led to speculation that Ronaldo may indeed end up back at Old Trafford and Moyes would love it if he could call upon the services of one of the best players in world football.
Ronaldo was reportedly disappointed that his mentor Sir Alex Ferguson chose to retire at the end of last season and would have liked to play under him again. However, Moyes will hope to show Ronaldo that he means business and Ferguson is still set to be at Old Trafford in his role as one of the clubs directors. It is unknown whether United could afford to sign Ronaldo this summer but the longer the winger fails to sign a new contract at Madrid, the more likely it is that he could return to his old stomping ground. Should Ronaldo become available, United will not be the only interested party, with big spending French clubs Paris St Germain and AS Monaco also interested in the winger. However, should Ronaldo leave Madrid, he will more than likely chose to come back to a club that helped him to become the global superstar that he is today.