According to a recent report by talkSPORT, Manchester United have identified three new players as their primary transfer targets for the summer transfer period. The same source has revealed that the Red Devils are looking to secure the services of Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Crystal Palace, Ivan Rakitic from Barcelona and Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli next summer.
It is no surprise that the Mancunian giants are looking to bring Wan Bissaka to Old Trafford as the likes of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia are nearing the end of their respective careers. The truth remains that the club has struggled to cope with their defensive problems this season even though their record at the back has considerably improved under Ole Gunnar Solskjær.
Hence someone like Kalidou Koulibaly, who can be considered as one of the best centre-backs in European football, will undoubtedly add a lot of quality to the Red Devils backline heading into the new season.
However, the interest on Ivan Rakitic is quite hard to justify considering how well the trio of Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera have performed in recent weeks. Solskjær has also got two promising youngsters for the midfield positions in Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira. Thus, Rakitic’s acquisition could hamper the development of these young talents as they would be getting limited to no game time at Old Trafford next season.
Wan Bissaka has established himself as a regular starter under Roy Hodgson at Selhurst Park. He has enjoyed a fantastic run of form while operating as a right-back and is destined for a very bright future in English football.
As mentioned before, Koulibaly is playing at his prime and would be the biggest coup among the three players being linked with a switch to Manchester as the Senegalese defensive ace can transform the Man United backline similar to what Virgil Van Dijk did for Liverpool last year.
On the other hand, Rakitic is currently playing at his peak but at 30, he won’t be a long-term asset for the Mancunian giants and so Ed Woodward and co. would be better of looking at other talents.
Let’s just say for the sake of argument that the Reds of Manchester manage to acquire all three of their summer targets, will it transform them from top 4 contenders to Premier League challengers?
Well, the answer in one word would be no. However, it will go a long way in addressing some of their problem areas from this campaign which have mainly been in defence.
