Sir Alex Ferguson has further moved to dispel the notion that he will be making moves in the transfer market in January.
Fans have been longing for a world class central midfielder and with Paul Scholes retirement it was assumed one would be drafted in during the summer.
That was not to be.
And any chance of seeing new faces in January has been ruled out too as Sir Alex is pleased with the strength and depth of his current squad, despite injuries to captain Nemanja Vidic, Anderson, Tom Cleverley, Michael Owen and Darren Fletcher’s illness.
In his programme notes for the Boxing Day fixture against Wigan, the Scot stated:
“All things being equal I am perfectly happy with the strength of our squad in terms of depth, quality and age range.
“I will not be swayed by the endless tweets and blogs urging the club to get busy in the transfer market next month.
“As far as I’m concerned I am marching perfectly in step, true to my beliefs and principles. While recruiting some of the world’s leading players can lift you into contention for honours, it doesn’t necessarily take you all the way, as I hope I will be able to demonstrate before the end of the season as other factors come into play.
“There was a condition though as United fans should expect the likes of Messi, Xavi or Iniesta at Old Trafford in January only if they become available on the transfer market.
“You can never say never in football, of course, because fortunes can fluctuate widely, that’s the football world. If a really top-class player becomes available, then we would go for him, or if we picked up any serious injuries, it might be important to add to our squad.”
Not quite the Christmas gift United fans expected, is it?
I don’t think Man Utd will be looking to sign anybody in January. We have a lot of injuries at the moment but I think we will have to endure. We need to get some of the injured players back and then we will be in better shape. Players like Cleverley, Rafeal and Anderson will make a big difference when they return.
Obviously Vidic and Fletcher are out for the season, but we need to buy top quality players. They tend not to be available in January. The only player I see worth looking at is the possible loan signing of Milos Krasic. He is a quality midfielder who could add a lot to the squad. Other than him though I feel we should wait until the summer.
We have Paul Pogba who will hopefully sign a new contract soon and commit his future to us. I think once he does that he will start being involved more and get some games. Its important to see his quality and the level he is at for next season. If he really takes off then we won’t need to sign more than one midfielder in the summer. It is an opportunity for Paul Pogba because of the injuries that we have suffered.
In the summer I don’t think Man Utd will need to do a lot of business. We have some top quality young players and a good squad. Some will go crazy at this suggestion due to our CL elimination, but I do feel we have a good squad. Players like De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Rafeal, Fabio, Evans, Cleverley, Welbeck and Hernandez are young and will be stronger next season. Other players like Nani, Rooney, Young and Valencia are reaching their peak years now as well.
I initially believed we should be looking to sign another left back to add more competition and cover for Evra. However that’s only going to happen if we are replacing Evra. Otherwise I see Ezekiel Fryers getting more games next season. He has shown potential and deserves a chance. I would like to see Will Keane emerge next season as well. Its possible because Berbatov, Owen, Diouf and Macheda could be allowed to leave in the summer.
Hopefully we can add a quality playmaker like Nicolas Gaitan in the summer. He can add that magic we have been missing at times. He will also bring a different option to the team. He can play behind Rooney in a 4-4-1-1 formation, or in a front three in a 4-3-3 formation. A lot of speculation about a deal being formally agreed and hopefully that is the case.
HOW ABOUT OUR LOCAL SPORTS TEAM! YEAH!!!
YOU GUYS
Totally agree with you @Andrew, we don’t really have to rush out and buy someone now that we’re no longer in the CL (much as that hurts). Our returning players should give us a nice boost towards the end of the season when theoretically they should be fresher.
That being said I would prefer if the club held out till the summer and bought wisely then, rather than a stop gap that might end up being a squad player only. Or maybe Sir should consider a loan move like he did with Larsson, that was brilliant. A cheeky bid for Lass Diarra? Krasic too like @Andrew said, although his form has been pretty poor.
I do wonder what Pogba has to do to even get on the bench, especially with our lack of numbers there right now, I don’t suppose its the contract situation. That wouldn’t be helpful in assuring him that he can break into the first XI.
Anyway we got that game coming up tom against Wigan at home. Lets hope we maintain that 100% record against them.
Struggling to think of a fantasy league captain now, RVP and Nani both look equally tempting…