Welcome to Manchester Wesley Sneijder… but which half?

All summer long we have been hearing about the proposed transfer of Wesley Sneijder to Manchester United – in fact the saga rivals that of Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona. Let’s face it, we are all sick of hearing about the Dutch man’s courtship by United as they seek a replacement for the now retired midfield maestro Paul Scholes, with United players lauding the Inter player’s skills and ‘terrific ability’ (according to Ashley Young that is) and even Scholes himself praising Sneijder. However, a spanner has been thrown in the works – Manchester City have now declared interest in the player, and may well be more equipped to meet the player’s somewhat hefty wage demands of £200,000 per week – which certainly would blow the pay structure at Old Trafford apart.

With the player himself stating that he ‘believes he is for sale’ and his wife keen on a move to England to further a media career, it seems that the player could well be moving to Manchester in the very near future. Yet now the question of which side of Manchester has arisen. It is fairly clear why United want Sneijder, with the player being an automatic replacement for Paul Scholes, and providing creativity and spark to the midfield. City were rumoured to be interested in Samir Nasri for that particular job, yet now seem to have turned their attention to Wesley Sneijder. Certainly, they can afford both the asking price and the astronomical wages, with money being no object. The question of which club the player would prefer to join is an interesting one, with both playing in Europe’s premier competition next season, and both being contenders for the major domestic trophies. Money wise, clearly the player would be more prone to joining City, yet United have more history, more trophies and are arguably the biggest club in the world.

Both clubs could do well without buying any more players, with yesterday’s game – particularly from a United point of view – showing just how well they have done with summer spending thus far, and Tom Cleverly looking impressive enough in midfield to earn an England call up. There is quality in both sides, yet that extra little bit of something special that Sneijder is more than capable of pulling out the bag could be the difference between a title and not, or a victory in Europe and not.

Neither club can honestly say they would turn away a player of such calibre, and both look more than slightly interested in buying the player. Whichever Manchester club he ends up at – should this be the case – it is only good for the premier league and their fans for a player like Sneijder to be playing his trade in England. United remain the favourites to secure his signature with ‘one more major summer transfer’ in the offing according to David Gill, yet there is more than a sneaking suspicion that City would love to replace want away striker Tevez’ face with Sneijder’s on their welcome to Manchester poster and revel in the reaction in the red half of the city.

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