Does Fergie Have One More Trick Up His Sleeve?

With the end of the summer transfer window (August 31) deadline quickly approaching, there has not been much to talk about transfer wise for Manchester United, over the last week or so. 

While we did the smart thing and get our business done at the start of the window, we are now seeing who our rivals are bringing in to challenge us for the title and wondering what the effects their new additions will make for them.

Manchester City finally completed their deal for Samir Nasri yesterday to add to their signings of Sergio Aguero, Gael Clichy, Costel Pantilimon and Stefan Savic. Chelsea have strengthened their squad with 18 year old Romelu Lukaku and former Barcelona teenager Oriol Romeu. Valencia’s Juan Mata has also been signed for £26 million and many believe the Blues are still in the hunt for a central midfielder.

Arguably both City and Chelsea are our two biggest rivals this year and seeing them strengthen so late on, does make me – and countless amounts of our fans – wonder whether Sir Alex Ferguson will have one last trick up his sleeve before the transfer window closes.

So far this season we have looked quite impressive and whilst we left it late againgst West Brom shone brightly againgst Spurs in the second half and but for the 2 goals conceded to City in the Community Shield outplayed them at Wembley.

However with City and Chelsea likley to do business before the deadline,I believe we still need one major signing to stay ahead of our rivals. The area that ever United fan wants to be filled is midfield.

While Tom Cleverly has shown great promise in the last weeks to fill that gap left by the legendary Paul Scholes and Anderson looks like he can prove to everyone this season that he is the top midfielder he can be, I still feel that there is a vacant spot for a world class experienced midfielder in our team.

What we don’t need is a young upcoming top player because with Tom Cleverley and other youngsters like Paul Pogba and Ravel Morrison around it might stifle their development. While young players like Mario Gotze, Christian Eriksen or Ganso would be great additions to the squad that I would love to see in a United shirt, I don’t see them being signed until the next summer transfer window or in January for Paulo Henrique if you believe the rumours.

Right now I feel experience over potential is something that is needed more right now.

The obvious name that springs to mind is Wesley Sneijder who has been heavily linked with United for the last 2-3 months. A world class player with quality and experience at the highest level is the one signing that every United fan wants to see. However with rumours going back and forth on the subject over player wages and transfer fees it’s hard to say if we will see the Inter Milan playmaker moving to Manchester before the August 31st deadline, if at all.

Another name that we have been linked with this summer is Bayern Munich’s Bastian Schweinsteiger. It was rumoured that Arsenal would be making a £30 million bid for the midfielder and if true a whole host of top European clubs including ourselves could be battling for his signature if Bayern do decide to sell which would appear very unlikley.

Another player who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in the past has been Roma’s Daniel De Rossi. The 27 year old has until next summer left on his contract and after refusing to sign a new deal currently, the chanes are that he leave the Italian capital next summer.

With the loss of Owen Hargreaves as well as Paul Scholes, De Rossi would provide added steel to our midfield and his box to box runs would also be a fitting attribute to our team. De Rossi would also be a cheaper alternative to Sneijder and Schweinsteiger if their fees and wages are providing a stumbling block. Saying that though, most pundits expect De Rossi to stay at Roma his whole career like Totti has.

While I’ve gone into detail on more experienced players I would like to see at United the prospect of young talents with world class potential like Gotze or Ganso at Old Trafford is an idea that every fan would love to see including myself. 

Despite the good start to our campaign I would still like to see a new midfield option come in before the window closes. Only time will tell if something interesting develops but time is running out fast.

By Tom Bradley