Ander Herrera’s father has spoken on Manchester United’s attempts to sign his son, claiming that his son is happy at Bilbao.
Athletic Bilbao confirmed that they had rejected a bid from United in the region of £26m yesterday and whilst it was reported that United would return with an improved offer, Guillem Balague claimed that United were not willing to pay £31 for the 24 year old.
Having travelled with his club for tomorrow’s game with Real Madrid, it seems unlikely that Herrera will join United and his father Pedro backed this up claiming that it will be hard for his son to leave Bilbao in this transfer window.
Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, the elder Herrera said:
“Ander is very happy at Athletic.
“He fought hard to get to this club and it be very difficult for him to leave.
“With Manchester United opting for a creative player, having failed to sign Cesc Fabregas they thought of Ander but he is very happy at Athletic”.
Earlier today Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde claimed that the player hadn’t asked to speak to United and wasn’t worried about him leaving:
‘Ander has not refused to play at the Barnabeu, nor has he told that he wants to go to United.
There has been quite a stir surrounding Ander. He is fine to play. Whether he plays or not is another question. I have no doubts.
‘Whether he plays is the decision of the manager – it is not only if a players feels ready. We have Mikel also, who is important for us.
‘To play in his situation is not normal. I’ve spoken to him and he’s within the right state of mind to play.
‘There is nothing to worry me. All I am concerned about is tomorrow’s game. The rest, I do not control.’
United’s transfer policy this summer has been pathetic. Us United fans have known for some time that CM was an area in most need of improving. To compete with the Bayern’s , Madrid’s, and Barca’s we need to stop teams having to much time space (Strootman) then to open the door of the tightest defences ( Tiago Alcantra) these deals should have been done on 1ST July. Why did Moyes not get the full backing in June to his Targets? Fabragas was never coming……FACT. He left Arsenal 2 yrs ago for chris sake to return to his homeland! sorry WE are not the biggest club in Europe. Barca, and Bayern are. Falleini is ok but seriously . Would Barca sign him ……NO. Bale? thought United was after the best players? Ronaldo? put the cash on the table Joel Glazer or the rest of the cream of europe will be long over the horizon. Europa league will be our future. Fergie for ever in your debt!!!!!
Utd have got absolutely no intention of spending money in this transfer window. Think even a blind man can see that. Just chasing impossible targets all summer. Moyes and Woodward are turning utd into a standing joke with this transfer policy.
“Fergie forever in your debt” The debt has been halved. Im not an apologist for the Glazers, its not an ideal situation by any means, but the debt is continually being reduced to more manageable levels. Their strategy might not be transparent or agreeable but its worked so far without interrupting the flow of trophies. Take Fergies advice and get behind the new manager. Premature predictions of Uniteds demise are not going to help the team. The squad is good and there are lots of exceptional young talented players on the books….we won’t be winning the treble any time soon but theres enough quality to work with and provide reason for cautious optimism.