Manchester United were linked with signing Kaka yesterday. They don’t need him.
If Manchester United did sign Kaka on loan, then there would be little other way to describe the signing as a ‘luxury’.
Why? Quite simply he is an extravagance they can do without. Nobody is doubting the Brazilian’s once flourishing talent, but United’s areas of need are far more pressing elsewhere.
It is why the club made their move yesterday to sign Dutch left-back Alexander Buttner.
There is also a gap in the centre of midfield where they are lacking a real combative box-to-box midfielder, an Alex Song would have been ideal.
United already have a new attacking playmaker added to their side this summer, Shinji Kagawa. The Japanese wizard is set to make his Premier League debut tonight at Goodison Park and will be looking to make an immediate impact.
In fact there are very few attacking midfielders of a similar age rated higher anywhere in Europe, the world even, so United adding a player believed by most to be past-it would make little sense.
Kagawa will have to adjust to the pace of the Premier League, but after adapting from the J-League to the Bundesliga with ease he will hold no fear.
A question many are posing is where the new addition will fit into United’s side now they have signed Robin van Persie. Will he be played out wide rather than through the middle? Will he play a deeper role in a more central position? He did in the club’s friendly with Hannover in which he scored the winner.
This was because of Michael Carrick’s need to fill in at centre-back, a role he may be required to play tonight because of Rio Ferdinand’s reported injury. Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans are all also ruled out.
Whether Kagawa hits the heights being expected of him in game one or not, the club should have no fear that the playmaker will adapt.
Bringing in star names on loan is not Sir Alex Ferguson’s style, especially to double up and threaten the game time of a new signing. One reason why Kaka did not succeed at Madrid is that after injury he struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting line-up.
Even if he made the unlikely move to Old Trafford he would likely find himself sitting on the bench for much of his time at the expense of the more youthful and dynamic Kagawa.
The prospects of any move seem slim despite the odds the bookmakers are offering, and United would be best advised to save the wage money to spend elsewhere. A central midfielder perhaps…
image: © Jan S0L0
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