Manchester United Rumours Archive May 24 2014

24 May 2014 17:43:39
The William Carvalho trail seems to have gone cold now.

Ed are we still working behind the scenes? Are we still interested in him?

{Ed002's Note - It is understood that after the appointment of van Gaal an enquiry was made with Manchester United to establish if they were still interested in the player - and I understand that the club has said that they are.}

I think that William Carvalho is very much a back up option for LvG. Kroos and Fabregas are his top two targets. But I think we will probably end up with Clasie and will try and get Strootman depending on his fitness.

Fresh, Carvalho is a completely different type of player to Cesc.

I think Carvalho would be a fantastic signing. He won't add to the creativity, but based on what I have read and seen of him, he would be a brilliant shield for either an inexperienced potentially new back 4 (if we do sign a new LB and CB) half the back four will never have payed together.

Having a 6 foot Claude makalele styled player sitting can only be a good thing. We would still need a creative box to box cm to play beside him (Vidal or potable please). If we are looking at a 2 year/ 4 transfer window rebuild I think he would be a good start.

Thanks for the reply Ed.

Fresh/Syd I think Carvalho is a completely defensive player and his contribution to attack will be minimal.

Kroos and Cesc on the other hand can and probably will play as deep-lying playmakers while joining in the attack as well.

Vidal would be ideal to complement them but he's a pipe dream.
Strootman injured and unlikely to leave.

Who does that leave us with?

With Cabaye coming in and a likely deal for Pogba in discussion PSG could have too many players.

Can we get Matuidi?

Yes Sydney I know that. I think that he is too one dimensional to be honest and I don't think van Gaal really wants him as a first choice signing.

Fresh how is he too one dimensional? His passing is consistent and has a relatively good range. His tackling and positioning is very strong. He's still only young and can definitely improve under a good manager. I think he'd be a great player to have in the team just wonder if we'll pay the price Sporting want.

24 May 2014 11:00:15
Ed, What the situation with Robben and do you think we will sign Cesc Fabregas?
Thanks in advance

{Ed002's Note - Arjen Robben has been interviewed whilst with the Dutch squad and has made it clear he will continue to play in the Champions League with Bayern Munich and, even if sold, would not join a club not in the CL. When asked, by a Dutch television reporter, about interest from MU, he responded that Manchester United is not an option.

I am not going to speculate about whether or not Manchester United will make an acceptable offer to Barcelona nor whether Fabregas will accept a move to Manchester, but I think there is a very good chance of an offer being made.}

I think a little bit of fresh has just died

24 May 2014 09:11:22
Luke Shaw is set to snub United to stay at Saints.
There are 2reasons for this, firstly he is worried that he would mostly be warming the bench and secondly Pocchetino is now set to stay and is rumoured to be about to sign a new contract.
Shaw will stay at Saints for another year then consider his options.

If Shaw stays south it's because MU didn't agree a fee with Southampton. Although those would be great excuses that would suit both MU and Shaw if it does go pear-shaped.

24 May 2014 05:43:31
Hi Ed02 do you have any further info on Kroos? in your imformed opinion is there still chance of a deal? and not transfer related but I would value your opinion do you think the new Evra deal is a smart move? I think it could be. I know Evra has not been the best recently but has possibly been the best left back in the world in his heyday and has a wealth of experience and knowledge to pass on to the new young pretender whether that be Shaw or someone else.

{Ed002's Note - I really don't see an agreement being reached for Toni Kroos. Evra's new contract will, I suspect, be a result of (a) wanting to spread the impact of the longer term transition to a new set of players with other senior players (Ferdinand, Giggs, Vidic) leaving this summer. (b) recognition that not making it to the Champions League may impact the ability of the club to attract certain players. (c) the club knowing what asking price was given to Chelsea in January and, seemingly, also concluding it is beyond their valuation of the player at this time - meaning it would need Southampton to agree to negotiate a lower price.}

Duncan Castles said a week ago that MU plan to have both Evra and Shaw at the club next season. We cannot forget that it was Duncan Castles who said when Jose was appointed as Chelsea manager that Jose didn't want Mata and Luiz. He was spot on here too.

Ed does your point about United not being able to attract certain players actually refer to targets we've had discussions about or was it simply a generic point about how the lack of CL football would impact any club? The Evra deal makes me worry whether we will try to push ahead for Shaw or if we will once again be left with a left back who can't defend for the whole season.

{Ed002's Note - It is a general point without any secret messages.}

RJ, if we pay good money, we will get the players regardless of UCL football. It seems that even when the club finish 7th, the club still keep penny pinching. That will not get us back to where we need to be. Obviously we need to judge them come September, but early indications are showing that we are not doing anything different to what we were doing previously under the Glazers. We need to pay whatever it takes to get the players we need. Not every season, but this season as we are in desperate need of proven quality.

That's true Syd however, will we pay the money? We need massive investment but if we choose the right players we won't need to spend massively for the next 3/4 years. It's all well and good penny pinching when your team are winning the CL but when you finish 7th and then don't improve on that the amount of pennies you have to pinch will start to decrease.

Thanks a lot ed much appreciated.

RJ, we will see I guess, but MU will need to start spending more than they do.