Manchester United have a busy summer transfer window ahead of them as Jose Mourinho, the current coach at the club is planning a squad overhaul at the end of the season. The Red Devils are likely to lose a number of first team players this summer with Spanish shot-stopper David de Gea leading the line. The former Atletico Madrid man is now wanted at the Bernabeu and Mourinho is already looking at replacements. And one name that is now doing the rounds is Inter Milan star Samir Handanovic.
Also linked with a move to Liverpool, Handanovic is an experienced shot-stopper, who has 81 senior appearances for Slovenia. He rose to the current heights in his eight-year stint with Udinese before he moved to Inter Milan in 2012.
Ever since, he has cemented a place in the first team for the Italian club and has 175 Serie A appearances at the San Siro. At 32, he is one of the most experienced players in his position in Europe but Inter Milan are themselves looking to make wholesale changes to their squad and are ready to let him leave this summer.
Very much capable of stopping even the best spot-kicks, Handanovic has picked up a habit of stopping penalties in his time in Italy and is one of the best in this situation. He is a dominating goalkeeper who hates for opponents to play in his box and is ready to take a knock or two to keep his side in the hunt. He is athletic and can make astounding saves regularly but his distribution over long ranges is a bit debatable.
He is decent with the ball at his feet but if he can replace De Gea at Old Trafford is a difficult question to answer. The Spaniard has been the best player for the Red Devils in the last couple of years. He has put in a number of match-winning performances, keeping himself on the line and saving his side’s skin on more than a few occasions.
Handanovic will be expected to provide a similar service to Manchester United but it is hard to see him do it as consistently as De Gea. De Gea and his performances are not easy to replicate but Handanovic is surely a player who can have the desired effect on goal at Old Trafford.
Though not as good a shot stopper as De Gea, Handanovic is decent with his agility and reactions and with not many ready-made options available in the transfer market, it looks like Mourinho will stick with the Slovenian for the next season. Jan Oblak, Kasper Schmeichel, and Jordan Pickford are the other options for Mourinho and who do you think is the best of the lot for United?
