With the 2013-2014 Barclays Premier League season drawing to a close and with Manchester United looking set to miss out on the Top Four, Will Robey explains why Moyes needs to spend wisely this summer…
Despite Manchester United reportedly having a £200 million war chest to spend this summer, David Moyes must ensure that he finds the correct solutions to United’s problems.
One of these problems is the lack of a combative midfielder, willing to pick the ball up from deep and run at the heart of the opposition’s defence. Manchester City have Yaya Toure, Arsenal have Jack Wilshire, Chelsea have Nemanja Matic, whilst Tottenham have Paulinho and Liverpool have Steven Gerrard; this is certainly a position where United are struggling to match their rivals.
So who are the options for Moyes this summer? Borussia Dortmund’s Ilkay Gundogan has been widely linked with a move to United, a move which would almost certainly see under-used Shinji Kagawa head back to the Signal Iduna Park. Gundogan would be an exceptional signing, despite his injury laden season.
If that deal cannot be done, then a sensible option would be to move for either Adam Lallana or Morgan Schneiderlin, who have been superb at the heart of Southampton’s midfield this season. Both players would be cheaper than Gundogan but would represent a risk for manager David Moyes. I don’t believe that any of the aforementioned players would be a flop at Old Trafford, but if Moyes is going to play it safe this summer, then paying top dollar for Gundogan seems the sensible option.
Another position which has evoked wide spread speculation is the left-back berth, with many reporting that Manchester United will look to replace outgoing defender Patrice Evra with England international Luke Shaw.
Whilst I believe Shaw would be a worthy addition to the squad, United must ensure that they pay the right price for Shaw- the higher the fee, the higher the risk. Some sources have quoted a fee in the region of £30 million which is absolutely scandalous.
If Moyes could negotiate with Southampton for a fee in the region of £17 million then that’s a good deal for both clubs, but any more than that then Moyes should pursue other options in the form of Alberto Moreno and Fabio Coentrao. If Chelsea are interested in Shaw, then it’s almost a certainty that they’ll drive the price up to silly money and Moyes should steer well clear of a deal for Shaw if that were to happen.
Finding a winger is something that Moyes should have at the top of his wish list. Whilst Ashley Young has performed well this season, United simply do not have the quality on the wing that the club has always been associated with. Antonio Valencia is a fantastic player on his day, but his form has had it’s peaks and troughs over the past two seasons. Nani is another winger who has failed to cut it over the past few seasons, struggling for consistency and fitness.
So who does Moyes sign this summer? Well this is where it becomes difficult. Wingers are notoriously expensive players to buy and paying a lot of money certainly doesn’t guarantee you a quality wide man – just look at the examples of Hulk and James Rodriguez.
Another problem Moyes has when choosing a winger to buy, is that there is a shift in the modern game whereby the top European sides are playing with hard working wingers who can do a solid job in tracking back whilst maintaining their attacking threat. The days are disappearing where you can simply instruct your winger to wait for the ball to find him and then launch an attack. You only have to look at Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Chelsea to see the shift in attitudes.
With that in mind, Marco Reus could be the long term solution to United’s problem. He’s versatile, hardworking and is able to maintain his attacking potency. However there is the possibility that the lack of Champions League football could be a stumbling block. Perhaps an altogether more realistic solution might come in the form of Real Sociedad’s Antoine Griezmann or Athletic Bilbao’s Iker Munian, who have both excelled in La Liga in the past two seasons.
Even Everton’s Kevin Mirallas would represent a good piece of business by David Moyes, but the long and short of the problem is that there are many more over-priced, potential flops on the market than there are quality, reasonably priced wingers.
This therefore becomes the riskiest investment for Moyes in the summer: Get it right and he bags himself a hard working, threatening winger for a good price. Get it wrong and he is left with a lazy, expensive, money grabbing, long-term failure. I certainly wouldn’t want to be in Moyes’ shoes with this decision to make!
I think overall the challenge for Moyes this summer is not to just throw money at United’s problems and pray for a solution. He has to ensure he’s signing players who can immediately improve the first team, whilst safeguarding the club’s long-term future. If Moyes can achieve that this summer then he and Manchester United can go far next season, and set about making amends for this year’s dire showing.
Follow Will Robey on Twitter: @will_robey22
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