A perfect £16m addition for Manchester United?

Leighton Baines didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during England’s Friday night defeat to Chile. He let the sprightly Alexis Sanchez slip in front of him to grab his first goal of the night early on in the game. He spent the rest of his time on the pitch struggling to make any kind of meaningful impact.

But we all know exactly what he’s capable of. It’s fair to say that he’s the best left-back in the Premier League and a worthy contender to Ashley Cole’s England throne. With the Chelsea left-back aging, Baines is only likely to grow in prominence over the coming years.

The same can’t be said of Patrice Evra, who is now 32-years-old. He’s starting to slow down, he’s not as mobile as he used to be and he’s not quite as effective. Yes, he’s still making well timed runs, but there will reach a point where he’s incapable of coming up with the goods.

It’s up to David Moyes and co. to make sure that they’ve brought in a replacement before that moment arrives.

And here’s where I tie those two threads together: wouldn’t Leighton Baines be a good addition for Manchester United? The Papers seem to think so. They’ve been linking the two to each other for a couple of years now.

Heck, earlier in the week, The Mirror claimed that ‘Manchester United will make it third time lucky [a reference to two United bids during the summer] by landing Leighton Baines for £16million in the January transfer window’.

If true, this is very good news indeed. It shows that David Moyes is being proactive and making things happen before they all fall apart.

£16m is a lot of money for a left-back, but Baines is one of the few out there worthy of his price-tag. He’s no spring chicken either (he’s 29-years-old), but it’s better than United go after him, rather than an inexperienced youngster like Southampton’s Luke Shaw (who’s 18-years-old).

Baines will dust himself off following his disappointing England performance and start performing again. I only hope that he does so in a Manchester United shirt. Let’s see if David Moyes is willing to pillage his old club once more.

What’s your take? Should David Moyes swoop in for his ex-charge Leighton Baines?

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