United raise the stakes
653 comments May 31st, 2007
Painful though it is, you have to congratulate Manchester United on what looks like some very shrewd transfer business.
Anderson operates in the “Number 10” role, though can also play wide left. He’s got a lethal left-foot, and plenty of speed and skill. The tricks, combined with his physical appearance, have led to premature but understandable comparisons with Ronaldinho.
Nani, meanwhile, is closer in style to Cristiano Ronaldo – a pure winger with plenty of pace and power. Both are under-20, and are clearly part of the club’s long term vision: their signing strengthens United’s Portugese speaking contingent, probably a long-term ploy to keep Ronaldo in place.
Add in Owen Hargreaves, and the Champions seem likely to have spent around £50m building on the success of last season. They’ve added both experience and potential, solid grafters and match-winners. We, meanwhile, have Wookash.
Of course, it’s only the start of a long summer. And of course, we can only dream of a moment like last night, when two exciting big money purchases are announced simultaneously. As far as I know, we simply don’t have the funds for that kind of lavish outlay.
But United’s early move will swiftly be followed by big spending from Liverpool, with Chelsea also likely to strengthen. Behind us, teams such as Bolton, Tottenham, Newcastle and Everton have considerably more funding than in previous seasons thanks to increased Premiership revenue.
We know Arsene is in Madrid at the moment, standing on a street corner with Jose Reyes soliciting passing Spanish Chairmen. The quicker he gets round to spending the money he recieves, the better.
