Manchester United have been linked with a move for highly-rated Benfica winger Andrija Zivkovic. The 21-year-old has been in impressive form this season for the Portuguese outfit and has played 17 games already. The latest reports have suggested that Arsenal have kept their eye on the Serbian ever since his playing days at Partizan Belgrade and are now likely to be rivalled by the Red Devils for the player’s signature.
The Gunners had sent their scouts to track the development of the player not only at Partizan but also at the u-21 European Championship last year at Poland but as always is the case with Arsenal; other parties have now swooped in meaning that Wenger might miss out on another target, once again to Jose Mourinho.
Andrija Zivkovic has had an exciting start to his footballing career when he became the youngest player ever to debut for Serbia. He was also the youngest man to captain Partizan and was an integral member of the highly talented u20 Serbian squad which won the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2015.
Under the Ferguson era, one of the many brilliant aspects of United was the club’s ability to scout and harness young talent. The likes of David Beckham and Ryan Giggs came through the system while the Cristiano Ronaldo’s and the Wayne Rooney’s were scouted in their teenage years. With the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson, this system expired and United have been in transition ever since.
Jose Mourinho’s arrival last season gave the club a new statement of intent. The Old Trafford outfit has backed their new boss in the market with marquee signings like Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku, Paul Pogba and many more. However, no new young player has come into the limelight after Mourinho took over. Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford both had already come to the foray under Louis Van Gaal. This would mean that Zivkovic could be the first youngster to be developed by Jose at United if he joins the Red Devils.
However, even though he would be a real scoop for United, the Red Devils must be cautious of overloading their final third. They already have Alexis Sanchez as a compulsory starter on the left flank with the likes of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford competing for a single spot on the other wing. Bringing in another young potential would damage not only the development of the new signing but also hamper the progress of the existing crop of players.
