Would a switch do this budding star a world of good?

When Gabriel Obertan was signed last summer many scratched their heads and asked who.

Very much an unknown quantity, most of us would not have known who he was unless we watched Ligue 1 or caught a glimpse of him scoring against England in an u21 friendly in the March prior to signing him. A back injury ruled him out for the opening period of the season further building anticipation as to who he was but when he finally did kick a ball in the shirt of United he didn’t disappoint.

An appearance for the reserves against Oldham became an instant YouTube hit as fans flocked in droves to see the gangly French man’s no look pass, the highlight of an energetic performance. He would go on to make his premier league debut weeks later against Blackburn and whilst it will be remembered for spurned chances many commended him for getting into the goal scoring opportunities especially as he had played as a winger.

A number of performances including a particularly impressive cameo against Wolfsburg in the Champions League where he set up 2 goals of Michael Owen’s hat trick saw his stock rise but as with most young players he was plagued by inconsistency. A poor performance against Leeds saw him disappear from the first team and when he did reappear it was in a losing effort against Everton but Obertan was still working hard in the reserves and a cracker against Liverpool that effectively sealed the reserve title for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team saw the forgotten man again return to people’s thoughts.

This past Saturday against Celtic, Obertan was one of the liveliest players on the field with an encouraging performance that drew praise from many fans. It appears he is been maturing and there was a confidence to this his game that made him that bit more effective. Previously Obertan’s problem was end product in terms of both shooting and crossing from wide so would a move to a more central position benefit him?

There is a strong case for it too. Both Nani and Valencia are already occupying wide positions so it would be pointless him waiting to try and usurp either’s position when he can be on the field doing damage. Fast and tricky, Obertan could cause havoc coming through the middle forcing fouls in dangerous areas or leaving defenders for dead.

If we look at his strengths and weaknesses it is apparent he will not provide the kind of defensive cover on the wings required but his passing and vision could see him become a rather effective #10. There was a sequence of play with Berbatov late on against Celtic that was particularly exciting to watch and had a goal come from it would still be talked about now days later. Some may feel that we are negating his strengths such as his pace by playing him in the middle but if he can run at a man on the wing and create problems, I think he can do it centrally too.

Obertan is still very raw and despite having a good performance it’s hard to forget how many times he gave away the ball early in the game or how his touch would let him down. He will need to work on his passing and the basics  as he seems to struggle with these but excel at things a person would consider harder but with playing time and training these things will come.

If you look at his ability and the glimpses he has shown us it’s obvious the talent is there but it’s just case of him realising this and putting the pieces together like Nani did. I think if he does he could excel both centrally and out wide but with our wide position’s covered we could find Obertan becoming that creative spark we’ve been missing.