Last summer I’d have been all too keen for Manchester United to make further midfield additions. I, like so many others was too drawn in by United’s desperate need to replace Paul Scholes to consider the possibility that there could be a replacement in house. Despite this possibility a number of names were mooted throughout a busy transfer window including: Wesley Sneijder, Daniele De Rossi and a certain Luka Modric.
Given that each of these players would have set United back a large sum of money I’m glad that Sir Alex didn’t add to what was already an exorbitant summer of spending. The emergence of Tom Cleverley in combination with the likes of Anderson finding some consistency has justified Fergie’s decision to keep his wallet zipped up.
Of course this hasn’t stopped the papers and media sources from creating tenuous links and transfer rumours regarding Manchester United’s need for a midfielder.
Which brings me to Goal’s story that United are leading the race to sign Dinamo Zagreb’s Mateo Kovacic, the man who has been labelled ‘the next Luka Modric’. It seems Kovacic has earned this title purely on the basis of being a young Croatian midfielder who can pass the ball – a lazy association, perhaps, but the quality of the young player is without question.
It has been suggested that Arsenal, Juventus and Bayern Munich are all keeping tabs on the 17-year-old, but United are currently in pole position for his signature.
Whether or not there’s any truth to this rumour, I can’t help but hope that United don’t take their interest any further. There’s a £10m price-tag above this 17-year-old’s head and that’s just too high a gamble to take on a young player. Any number of things may go wrong. He may not continue to develop at such speed, he may not adapt to the Premier League. He may have a bad mindset. Who knows?
£10m can buy you proven players, so why would United spend that much on someone who hasn’t played a minute in a reputable League?
What’s more, how would his signing affect the careers of promising players like Paul Pogba and Ryan Tunnicliffe? These players have the potential to be stars and I don’t want to see signings such as this derail their careers.
What’s your take? Should United seek ‘The next Luka Modric’s’ signature?
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