The silly season is well and truly underway, a period where football is in its annual hiatus and football fans cling onto the faintest and most obscure rumours in the hope that their team is strengthening. This has been especially true for United fans as copious rumours have emerged without materialising in turn leaving fans bitterly disappointed. Furthermore towards the end of last season rumours of Van Gaal and the board being desperate to complete early transfer business emerged. This coupled with the early capture of Memphis Depay heightened expectations that several transfer deals would be completed swiftly. However as we stand on the brink of pre-season United have thus far failed to add another signing despite obviously requiring reinforcements in central midfield, right back and centre-back.
Source: fcbayern.de
However despite several inaccurate and frankly made up rumours, there are a few links that have persisted which perhaps indicates they are genuine club targets. The players who have been persistently linked are Otamendi, Ramos, Schneiderlin and Schweinsteiger. Despite reports to the contrary one cannot help but feel that it will likely be one or the other in each position, and discussion is rife amongst United fans about which would be the more better choices. Ramos is 29 years old with a wealth of top level experience and several trophies won including the World Cup, whereas Otamendi is 27 and playing his 5th season in European football. Likewise at 30 Schweinsteiger is a bona-fide trophy winner winning every possible trophy whereas Schneiderlin is preparing for his fourth season in top flight football. Over the course of the last season United were heavily criticised for lacking real leaders and characters in the team. Furthermore the general consensus suggests United’s young squad lacks trophy winning experience and are therefore not ready to contend for major honours. So it’s easy then right? Sign Sergio Ramos and Schweinsteiger as they possess far more experience and have won several trophies and could propel United to challenging for the league title and the other cup competitions. However this view misses a subtle point I made above.
Ramos and Schweinsteiger are older than their alternatives, in terms of the midfielders the gap is significant as Schneiderlin is 4 years younger while the gap between the defenders stands at 2 years. All four players are in the middle or coming to the end of their careers and at this stage every year counts as you look at the number of seasons they can serve at the top level. For some of the fees that have been touted for the signings it would be wise to pursue players who can give more years of service to your team. The signings of Ramos and Schweinsteiger would be fantastic in the short-term and could lead to a trophy-laden era however surely in the long-term it would be more beneficial to pursue the alternatives. Morgan Schneiderlin has 3 years of experience in the premier league and would therefore not be required to adapt to the rigours of the league, despite his world class ability this may be a down side to signing Schweinsteiger. Sergio Ramos meanwhile is famed for his terrible disciplinary record and his reliability is thus somewhat compromised by his hot-headedness. Otamendi however has only received 1 red card (which was rescinded) in the last 5 seasons despite his aggressive style which suggests he can control himself.
Source: saintsfc.co.uk
In my opinion United are better off pursuing Otamendi and Schneiderlin particularly due to the fact that these two would give more years of service to United and is thus a better long-term option. Despite lacking the trophy winning experience of the others Otamendi and Schneiderlin are not novices by any means and in the case of Schneiderlin (arguably) has more relevant experience than the rest despite being the youngest. This of course goes on the assumption that it is a case of one or the other, however reports indicate that Van Gaal is in fact seeking to add both to his squad. If that really is the case and Woodward manages to pull it off United could be looking at a stellar season on the trophy front. United fans can expect a title challenge and a venture into the latter stages of the Champions League in addition to an extended cup run. Perhaps I to have been caught up in the silly season.
Note: As I write this Manchester United have confirmed that they have reached an agreement for the signing of Schneiderlin, reports indicate they are still interested in signing Morgan Schneiderlin. Long live the silly season.
Judah Davies