Manchester United and mega-money transfers. Superstars flock to the Old Trafford. The aura. The desire to be associated with one of the biggest clubs in the world. And yes, the obscene amount of money on offer. While it ideally should not be a factor, unfortunately, it is.
And with the transfer window about to open in about a week, we are being handed out a dishy transfer story and this is one which has the potential to be one of the biggest in recent times, yes even bigger than Paul Pogba.
After Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day, many expected a slump and were prepared for it. But the magnanimity of the task and the actual value of Ferguson was only known once he left. United struggled under Moyes. They were without direction and the board was unwilling to go all out with doubts lingering over Moyes’ ability to take the club forward with a firm long term plan. He was sacked before the year ended and Giggs took over as the interim manager.
United finished 7th and the aura and the mask of invincibility associated with the club suffered its first blow. Luis Van Gaal was brought in and backed with the requisite funds. He had a stuttering and an uncomfortable couple of years and although he finished 4th in the first season, he notched up a number of dubious statistics over the duration of his charge.
Manchester United failed to convince and he was eventually sacked and replaced by Jose Mourinho. The board had enough and decided to take the plunge. Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford. Things couldn’t get any bigger than this. He came with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba and snapped up Dortmund’s wonder player of last season- Henrikh Mkhitaryan. It became apparent that Mourinho was bent on powering his way to success and he had the full backing of the board. The world record fee for Pogba implied the very fact.
And if latest reports are to be believed, Mourinho is preparing to take things to a different level altogether. There have been repeated rumours throughout the season with Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann and Manchester United being linked with each other. With Pogba at the club and the camaraderie between the two evident, there is a very real possibility that the French striker will consider a move to the Theatre of Dreams.
With Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s game time expected to reduce considerably gradually, United are woefully short of striking options. With Rooney not the same player anymore, Griezmann will be an ideal choice for them. He has proved his class against the best in the business and is expected to leave Atletico at the end of the season.
While Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City revolution is gaining the majority of the traction, Jose Mourinho is building something similar, if not more dangerous in the other half of the City.
