It can’t be easy being Benfica. You work hard, bring through a raft of your own talent and fight your way to the top of the Primeira Liga table. After all that hard-earned success, clubs from among the European elite swoop in and pluck up all your best players. Clubs like FC Porto and Sporting Lisbon have similar issues.
Liverpool snapped up Lazar Markovic last year, whilst Nicolas Gaitan continues to pick up links to a wide range of different clubs. This season, Talisca, a Brazilian midfielder/striker has risen to prominence and there are already Premier League clubs circling.
Finally, there’s Enzo Perez who could well be the pick of the bunch. I’m sure you’ll remember the sprightly Argentine from his all-action displays in the 2014 World Cup. At 28-years-old, Perez has started to display the best form of his career.
He’s lightening quick, he’s direct and he’s technically gifted. He’s a midfielder who’s not afraid to take opposition players on, commit defenders and make things happen in the final third. I’d compare him to an in form Antonio Valencia – on his day, he’s almost impossible to deal with.
Naturally enough, Perez has been a long-term target for Manchester United. The Express even claim that Louis Van Gaal ‘has long been an admirer’ of the Argentine ace. The source suggests that The Red Devils are now in ‘pole position’ to sign Enzo Perez. His other suitor, Valencia, seems to have balked at the player’s £25m price-tag.
That’s certainly a lot of money, but it’s not outside of The Red Devils’ financial reach. Van Gaal’s priority during the January transfer window will be fixing his leaky back-four. Still, I won’t complain if he finds room in his budget to bring in a player as good as Enzo Perez. It’s not the move that people will be expecting, but that doesn’t mean it won’t work out well for everybody involved.
What’s your take? Is Enzo Perez really the man that Manchester United need?
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