This has undoubtedly been a pretty underwhelming season for the Red Devils. They are out of the title race, and the FA Cup with just the Europa League and a top four qualification spot left, which are hanging by a thread. New manager Jose Mourinho has lost the plot repeatedly amidst all this with wrong team selections and patchy form, and with just nine games to go now, the club seems to have started plotting moves for the next campaign.
Despite spending around £150 million last summer, United haven’t been the ferocious lot that most had expected them to be. And going by the intensity in which the rumour mill has been throwing up names linked with them, their spending spree seems set to continue.
After the whopping £89million signing of Paul Pogba, Manchester United are now searching the perfect midfielder to partner the towering Frenchman in the middle of the park, which has let down Mourinho on many occasions this season. Pogba has got very little time on the ball and the manager is looking for someone who would give him the proper cover.
And according to reports, they might have found just the right person for that role in Marco Verratti. United have been a long-term admirer of the Italian box-to-box midfielder, but Paris Saint-Germain has been very careful in not letting their best player leave at any cost. However, the latest statement from his agent Di Campli has stirred things up a bit.
In an interview with Gazelle de Sport, his agent said, “Marco wants to win and at PSG just now he cannot… He has been in Paris for five years and now has to make up his mind: does he want to earn a lot without winning anything or lift trophies and become a champion? … One thing is for certain: if he leaves PSG, it will be for a top European club.”
PSG’s almost perfect season was smothered by Barcelona in the last round of the Champions League when the French giants were ousted despite having a four-goal lead in the first leg. The only real shot at a major trophy is the Ligue 1, where they trail by three points to AS Monaco.
Verratti has won a total of 13 trophies in four-and-a-half seasons with the Paris club, which includes four Ligue 1 titles. It is obvious that he wants to taste the European title now and United, at the moment, might not be the best place for that especially with Barcelona hot on his heels.
Verratti signed a five-year deal last year and he would cost a huge sum for sure. Since joining PSG from Italian side Pescara back in 2012 for £10million, the player has come a long way. And no matter wherever he goes, he would be a tremendous addition.
