Rijo Sam Daniel
Manchester United to target Mauro Icardi if Edinson Cavani or Anthony Martial leave in January transfer window
According to the French publication L’Equipe (h/t The Mirror), Manchester United will shift their attention to target Mauro Icardi if Edinson Cavani or Anthony Martial leave in the January transfer window. The Paris Saint-Germain striker has seen his minutes reduced following the summer arrival of Lionel Messi.
Cavani is in the final six months of his contract with the Red Devils, and he has been linked with a move elsewhere as a result. The 26-year-old has already expressed his desire to leave Old Trafford, having struggled to gather game time this season. The Argentinian will be eyed as a replacement if one of these two departs the club this month.
The wantaway Martial, who was signed by United as a highly-rated teenager from AS Monaco, has attracted interest from Sevilla and Newcastle United, but supposedly he is not interested in signing for the Magpies. The 34-year-old, on the other hand, has been told by Ralf Rangnick that he wants him to stay past the winter transfer window.
Potential January signing?
So, we could try our hand at signing the 28-year-old this month. However, he is not one of the ideal targets when looking at his history at PSG and Inter Milan. He brings with him a lot of off-field baggage, which may well hamper the harmony within the squad.
The Argentine has missed games for the French club due to his personal issues, which is always a red flag. The latest off-field saga involved his wife Wanda Nara accusing him of cheating, but they have since apparently set aside their differences and gotten back together.
It was not a one-off issue either, as similar instances were there at San Siro. The Ligue 1 star was stripped of the captaincy due to the Italian club having issues with him and Nara, while there were other examples where he had talked ill about the fans in a book. He even took his former club to court when Antonio Conte had arrived as the coach, and he got sidelined due to not being preferred.
Things like these make the Argentine international a walking time bomb as his off the field involvement tends to overshadow his output on the field. He has made 82 appearances for the Paris based club and has scored 38 goals while assisting ten times in the process.
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If one overlooks what happens beyond the field, the PSG attacker may well be a smart addition to the squad. He has experience at the top level with Inter and PSG. Given his age, he has a number of years left at the top as well, which could be important given the ageing bodies of Cavani and Ronaldo.
It remains to be seen what happens this month. Past happenings from a player never necessarily mean he will replicate at his potential new club. If the club does get him in, it’s best we get behind their decision and back any player that dons the red of Man United.
