With Louis van Gaal said to have been given an unlimited transfer budget to spend on the rebuilding of his squad, it doesn’t mean that he should get carried away with his new found spending power. He has already spent close to £60million with the addition of Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera, but is believed to still be targeting a few more players.
However, with a very successful pre-season, he may want to avoid another Marouane Fellaini – David Moyes incident, by making the right transfer calls ahead of the upcoming Premier League campaign. So, with that in mind, here are SIX panic buys the Red Devils should avoid this month.
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Edinson Cavani
Name: Edinson Cavani
Age: 27
Position: Striker
Nationality: Uruguay
Club: Paris Saint-Germain
Price: £50 – £55 million
Why they should avoid him?
Manchester United don’t need another striker. They are already having enough trouble with Danny Welbeck and Javier Hernandez not getting enough playing time behind the likes of superstars Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie that a move for another front man will be very unnecessary. Plus, spending the hefty £50 million plus another huge salary will just risk United in breaching the Financial Fair Play regulations.
Angel Di Maria
Name: Angel Di Maria
Age: 26
Position: Winger
Nationality: Argentina
Club: Real Madrid
Price: £40 – £45 million
Why they should avoid him?
Angel Di Maria is considered a world class player, but the likeliness of him fitting into Manchester United’s 4-3-3 formation is rather slim. He is considered a very attacking winger, but with Louis van Gaal opting to field two wing back roles, Di Maria may not be able to perform at his best. We have also seen him deployed as a central midfielder for Real Madrid in the past, but it is highly unlikely that Van Gaal will splash the cash for a winger who may not want to play central midfield.
Arda Turan
Name: Arda Turan
Age: 27
Position: Winger / Attacking Midfield
Nationality: Turkey
Club: Atletico Madrid
Price: £25 – £30 million
Why they should avoid him?
Arda Turan is mainly deployed as a winger, but much like the Di Maria case, he might not be able to contribute to the more defensive-minded wing back role. However, he has also been effective playing right behind the strikers, but once again, with Juan Mata and Shinji Kagawa promised that role, the likelihood that he would move from Atletico Madrid as a regular to a back will be very unlikely.
Nigel de Jong
Name: Nigel de Jong
Age: 29
Position: Defensive Midfield
Nationality: Netherlands
Club: AC Milan
Price: £7 – £10 million
Why they should avoid him?
Although already given the chance to work under Louis van Gaal with the Dutch national side, a move to bring Nigel de Jong back to the English Premier League might not be the best option. He looks to be a very short term solution to the injury of Michael Carrick, but based on their pre-season form, they have a number of players who have stepped up to fill the role. De Jong wasn’t a standout player during his spell with Manchester City, hinted that maybe the English game isn’t for him.
Wesley Sneijder
Name: Wesley Sneijder
Age: 30
Position: Attacking Midfield
Nationality: Netherlands
Club: Galatasaray
Price: £15 – £18 million
Why they should avoid him?
Other than the fact that Manchester United have been chasing the likes of Wesley Sneijder over the past few seasons, it may be about time they gave up on him. At 30, he could well be past his prime and the fact that he plays in the number 10 role, he cannot expect to get a first team berth. He is still a quality player, but with Louis van Gaal turning to a more quick paced attacking game, Sneijder may not prosper like he did during his time with Inter Milan.
Kevin Strootman
Name: Kevin Strootman
Age: 24
Position: Central Midfield
Nationality: Netherlands
Club: Roma
Price: £79 million (Asking price)
Why they should avoid him?
There are two reasons why Manchester United should not make a rash decision over the purchase of Kevin Strooman, one being his fitness, with the other one being his over-the-top price tag. Still recovering from an injury which saw him miss the World Cup, Strootman is nowhere near match fit to make a huge different to the club. Plus, with Roma slapping a £79 price tag on his head, the United board will have to be crazy to allow such an offer to me made.