Manchester United are apparently interested in bringing Valencia’s Carlos Soler to Old Trafford, but would he be an ideal signing?
Carlos Soler has established himself for a resurgent Valencia this season. Despite being just 20; he is an important part of new coach Marcelino’s plans to restore Los Che to glory. It’s no surprise a club as big as United are now looking at him, according to The Independent, but would he be a good fit?
Soler’s Playing Style
Standing six feet tall, Carlos Soler has the upper-body strength to hold opponents off and, with some time in the gym, could really become a muscular presence. Although that would take away from his close-control and dribbling skills (8/24 successful dribbles), which allow him to evade opponents and create goalscoring chances.
Whilst Soler’s dribbling and confidence to run with the ball are obvious highlights, his ability to use the ball well is just as impressive. Soler excels at creating chances (he’s created 15 so far) and sending crosses into the box, and has even shown a knack for scoring goals in big games, netting against Real Madrid.
A Bad Signing
Despite his obvious qualities, he probably wouldn’t be an ideal signing for Manchester United at this point. Why? Well, he’s 20 years-old and there’s plenty of rough edges to his game. 24 attempted dribbles shows great confidence, but completing only 8 indicates he’s not always making the right decision.
That kind of immaturity needs time to develop and José Mourinho is infamous for not giving young players time to develop. Nor does he give them anything like the guidance and structure that Valencia boss Marcelino provides. Does Soler have the kind of Rashford-esque supernatural self-confidence to succeed regardless? Who knows. It’d be a huge risk for the Spaniard to come play for Mourinho, one he’d probably be better off not taking at this point in his career.
The Ideal Replacement
Of course, Manchester United do need a winger. And even if they don’t fancy having a tilt at RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg, they don’t need to look further than Soler’s Valencia team-mate: Gonçalo Guedes. The Portuguese winger is on-loan at the Mestalla from PSG and is a much better fit for José Mourinho.
Despite being the same age as Soler, Guedes is already more developed as a footballer. He has fewer rough edges and has been sensational for Valencia so far this season. Soler’s 15 chances created is nice, but Guedes’ 18 is better (no Valencia player can match his 5 assists).
Moreover with the ball Guedes is a dynamo, attempting 28 dribbles and completing a staggering 28 of them (a 71% success rate vs. Soler’s 33%). He’s just a more developed and complete player, one who fits José Mourinho’s style of coaching just perfectly. If Manchester United want a Valencia player, he’s their man.
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