6 signings that would win Manchester United the Premier League title
Speaking at the launch of Soccer Saturday Super 6’s sponsorship of Salford City FC, Gary Neville said – "I said last season that the title would come to Manchester - and I was wrong - but I think this year it will” before going on to add "I say it every year, whoever recruits best, wins the league”.
That last bit is the key here, whoever recruits best wins... last year Chelsea were bolstered by the recruitment of N’Golo Kante and Antonio Conte (signing the manager up was a true masterstroke from the Blues was it not?) while this year their signings of Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoué Bakayoko have bolstered their ranks – in the absence of Diego Costa, they do, though, need a world-class striker if they are to have any chance of retaining the title.
This could be one of the of the reasons Neville favours his home city to pull through with the victory, and one-half of it has already done brilliantly in the transfer market. In fact, Manchester City seem to have done the best bit of early business in England, getting the likes of Ederson and Kyle Walker for world record fees (seem to have done the best bit of early business in England, getting the likes of Ederson and Kyle Walker for world record fees (for their respective positions) and signing up the truly exciting Bernando Silva early on.
Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, said Manchester United’s summer purchase status was at half-done. They’ve already signed the promising Victor Lindelof from Benfica and the belligerent Romelu Lukaku from Everton (from right under Chelsea’s noses to boot) but two more signings and the deal could be sealed – so we look at six players who would fit the bill perfectly at United.
Sign any two of these players, and the title could be headed to Old Trafford for the first time since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson
Note – Rankings have been given by averaging out the signing’s potential impact on arrival plus the likelihood of the deal actually happening
#6. Eric Dier
Current Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Having grown up (football-wise) in Portugal and having learned his trade with Sporting CP’s youth establishment, Eric Dier has transformed into one of the most important cogs of Tottenham’s superb midfield – his positional awareness, discipline and underrated passing ability creating the solid base for those further forward to unleash their considerable attacking talents.
Possessing a unique style of his own – something he himself calls a cross between Portuguese and English sides – it’s understandable that Jose Mourinho looks favourably at the midfielder as he’s the kind of player – versatile, good on the ball – that the Portuguese manager loves having in his squad.
Dier’s presence would free up Ander Herrera, and more importantly, Paul Pogba – the world’s most expensive player could then begin to show the rest of the world just what all the fuss is about (in case they don’t get it yet)
Tottenham, though, are under no pressure to sell – and as he displayed with the Walker-to-City transfer, Daniel Levy will charge the maximum possible to let one of his charges go.
Potential impact of transfer: 6/10
Likelihood of transfer: 5/10