With Manchester United’s season slowly petering out (in fact, it effectively ended when they were booted out of the Champions League by Bayern Munich), I’m sure that David Moyes will already be drawing up his transfer plans.
David Moyes won’t have enjoyed this season in the slightest. He moved from Everton, where he was more-or-less treated like a hero by the fans, to Old Trafford, where he’s taken up a position as the club’s new whipping boy. Talk about trading down.
Replacing Sir Alex Ferguson was always going to be difficult. I don’t think David Moyes appreciated how tough it would be until it was too late.
Now all he can do is make some smart decisions in the transfer market and look to get more out of his best performers next season.
This brings me to The Mirror‘s claim that David Moyes went on a ‘scouting mission’ to watch FC Porto and Benfica in action in The Portuguese Cup. If the source is to be believed, he was there to watch two players: Ezequiel Garay and Eliaquim Mangala.
Both are centre-backs and both of them are very highly regarded throughout Europe.
The Frenchman, Mangala, is the main ‘get’ here. He currently plays for Porto and has a £20m price-tag. He’s only 23-years-old, but he’s already a fully-formed defender with all the quality necessary to excel in the Premier League. I can only imagine how good he’s going to get over the course of his next contract.
Then there’s Garay, a former Real Madrid player who’s currently treading water at Benfica. The Argentine ace is quick along the ground, works hard and loves to fly into tackles. He too would be a good addition to this Manchester United side and it’s thought that he’d cost about £17m.
With Nemanja Vidic set to move on and Rio Ferdinand’s future uncertain, signing a couple of top quality defenders is beginning to look like a necessity. This Primeira Liga duo may take a while to gel in the Premier League, but it’s hard to think of two better replacements for two of Manchester United’s most important players.
What’s your take? Are you excited to see that David Moyes is scouting Eliaquim Mangala and Ezequiel Garay?
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