Should Manchester United REALLY consider recalling Nani?

I wonder if Manchester United fans have any fond memories of Nani. A few years back he was one of The Red Devils’ best players. His pace and trickery were a joy to behold and his crossing ability was second to none in the Premier League. Then for some reason his form dropped off, his career was disrupted by injury and he quickly fell out of favour.

This is a man who should have picked up the mantle from Cristiano Ronaldo when he left for Real Madrid. He should have gone on to be a club legend, leading Manchester United to further successes. Sure, he’s got a number of different winners medals to his name, but it’s fair to say that he didn’t maximize his potential at Old Trafford.

In total he made 228 appearances for Manchester United, scoring 40 goals. But look at the diminishing returns he started to offer in the last 3 years:

2011/12 – 40 appearances/10 goals

2012/13 – 21 appearances/3 goals

2013/14 – 13 appearances/1 goal

Not all that impressive, is it? In the end a move to another club looked inevitable. As it happened, he ended up at Sporting Lisbon on loan. Given the circumstances, this looks like a smart move. Nani is a man rejuvenated.

He’s made 13 appearances for Sporting at the time of writing and he’s found the back of the net 6 times. That’s more goals than he scored in his last two seasons combined. He’s back!

This has led to The Metro‘s claim that Manchester United are working on a ‘shock’ deal to recall Nani from Sporting Lisbon. The source suggests that as the Portuguese club aren’t paying Nani’s wages and didn’t pay a loan fee, it should be easy enough to get him back.

Still, it all depends on where Nani wants to play his football. Will he really want to return back to Old Trafford when he’s seemingly enjoying himself in Portugal? Can Louis Van Gaal make him feel loved?

That remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure: Manchester United need all the firepower they can get if they’re to turn things around.

What’s your take? Should Manchester United be raking over old coals?

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