According to the Daily Mail, Manchester United are interested in bringing Borussia Dortmund’s star centre-back NevenSubotic to Old Trafford in the summer. The Bundesliga unit are chasing a second consecutive League title and Subotic has impressed at the heart of their defence, providing a stable platform for the likes of Mario Goetze to go out and win games.
He’s also impressed at International level where he lines up alongside NemanjaVidic for Serbia. There’s a very good chance that Vidic has had an influence over Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to singing Subotic’s praises.
Whilst Subotic would surely be sad to leave a successful Dortmund side the chance to play alongside his International teammate for one of the best teams in the Premier League may be too much to pass up.
What’s more, the centre-back position is clearly one that Sir Alex Ferguson needs to address. Whilst Nemanja will be fit and ready for next season, question remains over whether Rio Ferdinand can still cut it at the top level. In my opinion, Rio is no longer the kind of player who can manage 40-games-a-season. Thanks to injuries and old age, he needs to be monitored carefully and by now it’s probably best that he’s deployed as Manchester United’s third choice centre-back.
Which brings me to Chris Smalling and Phil Jones, two players with masses of potential. Luckily for Manchester United, they’re also highly versatile. Jones can play as a defensive midfielder as well as a centre-back and Smalling can be utilized as a right-back if necessary. All of which is to say, Fergie bringing in another defender wouldn’t necessarily affect the development of these two fine young players.
It would, however, make United a stronger force. Despite being 6 ft 4 in tall, it’s clear that there’s more to Subotic’s game than simply aerial prowess. He has got a great reading of the game, takes up good positions and can put in a meaty tackle.
The only trouble would be tempting Dortmund to part with one of their best assets. The Mail suggests that United are ready to bid £16.5m, but given that Chelsea are rumoured to have bid £17.5m for Subotic in January, it’s unlikely that this would be enough. We can only hope that there’s some truth to this rumour and that United can entice Dortmund to sell.
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