Manchester United are in the hunt for a midfielder and OGC Nice’s, Jean-Michael Seri has been touted to be their next summer signing. Obviously, bitter rivals, Manchester City has also expressed their interest in the 26-year-old and Jose Mourinho is set to go head to head with Pep Guardiola over another player.
Seri’s future has been speculated upon for quite some time now. He had previously drawn heavy interests from Barcelona and Arsenal
The Spanish giants were heavily invested in Seri and had placed a bid of £35.2million. It was reported that Nice president, Jean-Pierre Rivere had rejected the offer, which did not sit well with Seri.
After the collapse of the Barcelona transfer, Arsenal also backed out from placing a bid of their own. With his contract set to run until June 2019, Seri is supposedly ready for a move away from OGC Nice.
The Ivorian arrived at OGC Nice in the summer of 2015 and has appeared in 115 matches ever since, netting the ball 11 times and collecting 18 assists. He has been a key figure in the midfield for the Ligue 1 outfit with his distribution and defensive ability around the centre circle.
Seri has been capped for the Ivory Coast national team 16 times and draws a lot of similarities to the game of Yaya Toure himself. Granted, Seri does not tower over other players with a giant stature as the Manchester City player does, but he is capable of almost everything else.
Standing at 5 feet 6 inches tall, he is a shifty figure with a keen eye for ball-winning opportunities. Mourinho is well aware of the talent and experience Seri brings to the table and will be inclined to pursue his services aggressively. The United midfield can do with a cool and composed head who will accentuate the game of Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.
Michael Carrick is very close to retirement and Marouane Fellaini’s contract is set to end after this season.
Ander Herrera’s future is also uncertain with the Spaniard getting constantly linked to European sides. Even though Matic has impressed on the defensive end, his inconsistent bouts are frustrating to deal with and have cost the Red Devils on a few occasions.
United will have to improve upon their title challenge next season now that they are 16 points behind their bitter rivals in the points table. Mourinho will be taking on the challenge with a bunch of new signings from the summer window and Seri will be a big name to fill the gaps.
