Tanvir Juneja
Ahead of the summer transfer window, the Red Devils are in a desperate search for an ideal signing that acts as a pilot for rest of the other follow-up deals. One of the most high-profile signings could possibly be landing Atletico’s Koke at Old Trafford. Manchester United are ready to go down in splits in order to pick a marquee player’s deal after a difficult season under LvG that saw an unsuccessful Champions League campaign coming to an end all too soon.
Alas! The Premier League’s off-chance of finishing in the Top 4 has also lost its path whilst FA Cup hopes are still alive, much to the saving grace of Van Gaal that he still might have something to strengthen his status quo of defending his job and winning hearts with a promising campaign for next year. Moreover, given the lackluster defensive style of football the Red Devils have been playing, they look like a wounded lion pride that demands resurgence in the form of added impetus in the midfield and attacking ranks.
Regardless of who becomes or stays as the boss at Old Trafford, the summer transfer market is going to be pivotal for the club’s position next season with immediate effect after the two-month break at the end of the current season.
Playing the role of an agile attacker and the proactive play – maker, Atletico Madrid’s ace Koke seems to have just the right amount of mix in his style of play to complement other midfielders along with goal-scorers like Martial, Rooney, Raashford, etc. As per reports, Atletico would be reluctant to sell the Spaniard since they would only be willing to entertain clubs that are interested to spend 60million euros for him.
Why Koke Would Be An Ideal Signing?
Atletico Madrid knows that Koke’s resurrection is one of the club’s go-to players who has always played a key role to get the big results against teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid. Having said that, Koke too lives up to his name for the club. The media have lately cited Koke and Torres’s return to brilliant form as the best version of Spanish football seeing a reborn Atletico side.
At the moment, the midfielder is in a rich vein of form as he demonstrated it again on Sunday by opening the scoring against Granada. Everything seems to be going his way at the moment. In the previous game against Espanyol, the midfielder had a hand in all of three of the goals Los Rojiblancos scored; providing assists for Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann before capping an all-action display with a headed goal for himself. His season’s goal tally is 20 goals in the league and he has scored and assisted in consecutive games.
He seems to be the ideal fit in the XI who has a magical ability of creating an instinctive understanding with the striker and the rest of the attackers that becomes excruciatingly incomprehensible for the opposition’s defenses. A guy like Koke could provide United with just the perfect balance they need to stay compact and aggressive.
In Koke’s praise, quite a few legends have voiced their opinions such as:
“Koke is an extraordinary footballer,” Ex-Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez – “He has everything: Talent, physical ability; he is a footballer of the present and the future. He has been marked out as the conductor of Spain’s orchestra for the next 10 years. I have a special affection for him because we play in the same position and I think he is an extraordinary player.”
Koke is an all-rounder. In Atletico’s league title-winning campaign of 2013-14 he played an all-action, battling role from wide areas, working extremely hard to regain possession by putting in a huge number of tackles, before leading quick counter-attacks. This season for Atletico, he’s moved inside and generally plays as a deep-lying central midfielder, from where he can have greater influence. Koke’s footballing intelligence has proved out to be crucial for Atletico Madrid’s great triumphs.
Despite regular outstanding performances for Atletico in recent years, Koke remains somewhat underrated in European football terms. Although he is regarded as a talented, technically, but still emerging midfielder, he deserves to be recognized as one of Europe’s best and that’s where a club like Manchester United could step in and make all the difference to his name, game and stature, of course.
Manchester United must sign him as their priority transfer conquest in the summer so as to have an energized, rebranded and an awesome midfield yet again.
