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9 Goals, 2 Assists, But Why Manchester United Should Forget This World Cup Winner And Concentrate On Other Signings

Mario Gotze
Mario Gotze

Mario Gotze

Mario Gotze was supposed to be the next big thing. As Borussia Dortmund started mounting a serious challenge in Germany as well as Europe, it was Gotze who was the star man. This was precisely why Bayern Munich quickly swooped in and signed the young German in 2013.  However, his performances for the Bavarians so far have been underwhelming.

One of Gotze’s problems has been the different roles he’s been asked to play. Although he thrives when asked to play just behind the striker, he’s been made to play left, right or even up front. He’s been unable to adapt to these roles. His playing time hasn’t been as much as he would have liked either, especially this season where he’s missed majority of it through injury. Speculation about his departure has increased, especially since it seems like he feels Guardiola doesn’t have much faith in him. That would affect any player’s performance. The fact that Gotze has performed better for Germany during this time probably highlights this fact.

Many people thought Juan Mata would be one of the players to leave Old Trafford in the summer. However, his brilliant performances at the start of the season made him a mainstay in the first XI. Since then though, his form has seen a major decline. United have been lacking a lot of creativity and Mata being anonymous in majority of the matches has been a key reason for that. Putting Gotze’s performances into context, these are some statistics of how the two performed in 2014/15 courtesy Squawka.

Playing just one game more than the German, Mata created 5 more chances with 50. In terms of goal scored, they both scored 9. Goals have been a big problem for United and their mid-fielders really do need to contribute more. Mata also had 4 assists, which was double the amount Gotze had. The one thing Gotze does have on his side is age though, being just 23. However, with Mata being 27, it could be said that he’s reaching the peak of his career.

Rumours have been floating around that Gotze wants out and the Premier League has been labelled as his preferred destination. With his former manager Klopp at Liverpool, he has been heavily linked with a move to Merseyside. But Manchester United are another interested party. However, they do already have many players who can play in the position Gotze likes to play in. While Herrera has been enjoying playing as the number 10 recently, Rooney, Mata, Fellaini all can be deployed there.

Mata would be most people’s number one choice to play there, but he’s been used mainly out on the right. Though, with his recent drop of form, he’s been warming the bench. Gotze is no doubt a very talented player and could provide the much needed creativity, but that doesn’t mean United should go for him. What they really need is a striker and along with that probably a winger. Their failure to break down defences means they have to go down the wings and they really need a proper wide player on the right. A full back might not be a bad option either with Shaw, Rojo, Valencia, Darmian and Young all suffering serious injuries.

Written by Pravir Singh

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