Reports are leaking out that we have signed a 16 year old Dutch wonderkid called Gyliano van Velzen from Ajax who will join up with our Academy imminently.
I can’t confirm that the rumours are true at this stage and I don’t know very much about him at all but he is being described already as a left-footed Ronaldo.
The video below gives a glimpse of him and as you will see, he’s a tall lad and thoroughly left-footed but quick, strong and tricky.
It must also be added that this video is two years old and so he’ll be playing against 14 year olds there! Hopefully there’s some truth to the rumour and we’ll be able to see him playing for the Academy very soon though.
I must admit, I really know nothing about this lad and this transfer has come as something of a shock to me. Of all the positions we perhaps need a bit of cover for, I would have thought we’re more than well stocked in the striker department now, especially with the arrival of Hernandez (who scored for Mexico tonight, by the way!).
I can only assume that he is one of those “hot properties” such as Anderson and Nani who are expected to become big and if we don’t sign him now, we could be looking at double or even treble the fee in the not-so-distant future.
The question is, of course, where will he play? Most of us United fans are already trying to suss out how Fergie will get the most of the five recognised strikers we already have at the club (Rooney, Berby, Owen, Kiko and Chicharito).
I’m sure more details will follow over the next few days and perhaps a loan back to selling club, Vitoria de Guimaraes, is not totally out of the question?
United have just announced the signing of 21 year old Mexican, Javier Hernández Balcazar, whose nickname is Chicharito which I am reliably informed means “Little Pea”.
I’m not sure why he’s called Little Pea but it could be down to the fact that at just over 5′ 9″, he isn’t exactly the tallest player in the world.
I must admit, I don’t know much more about him other than that but his goalscoring record looks decent enough.
I’m sure we’ll be seeing plenty of him during our pre-season friendlies and it’s going to be interesting to see how he gets on.
The injury to Rooney recently has shown just how threadbare we are with attacking options. The Michael Owen “gamble” hasn’t really paid off. As a free signing, it was worth a punt but we have been crying out for a quality, young striker who is not “one for the future” but has what it takes right now.
Hernandez might just be the one we’ve been looking for… here’s hoping…
The video below shows some of his goals… he does look good!
Details are a little sketchy at the moment but I understand that Fulham defender Chris Smalling has signed for United but will not officially come on board until the 2010/11 Season.
Presumably, this means that he continues to play for Fulham in the meantime in some sort of loan arrangement so that he can get some more experience under his belt before joining us (although some mischievous people are suggesting that we don’t actually have the money at this present moment and will only be able to purchase him properly when we get the money from the sale of Vidic!)
On paper, we look to have a decent set of defenders already at the club but this season in particular has highlighted just how easily Fergie can find himself scraping the bottom of the barrel. Even last season, Fergie found himself forced into juggling the defensive line-up almost game after game at one point.
Rio’s long-term fitness remains a doubt as the injuries seem to becoming more and more frequent in recent years and the rumours of Vidic’s departure just won’t go away.
This looks a canny purchase by Fergie (details of the fee have yet to be released, however) and it could be that with Smalling and Evans, we have a defensive partnership to step into Rio and Vida’ shoes when the time comes and take us forward for many years to come… fingers crossed.
United have just announced the signing of 21 year old striker Mame Biram Diouf from Molde F.K.
The player will continue to play for Molde on a loan basis until January at which time he will make the switch permanently to Old Trafford.
Mame Biram Diouf is 6′ 1″, was born in Senegal and described as “a quick and well-rounded striker who can play on both sides”.
He has scored 30 goals in 62 appearances for Molde FK and certainly looks to have the attributes to be a top striker but we have heard that many times over the years but many just never quite seem to make the step up… hopefully this lad will be one of the few exceptions.
This one has been in the news for the last few days but it has now been confirmed – 20 year old Gabriel Obertan has signed a four year deal from Bordeaux for a fee in the region of £3 Million.
Obertan is a versatile player (can play on either wing, in centre-midfield or, apparently, up-front although 3 goals in 70 appearances suggest otherwise!) which always appeals to Fergie and it will be interesting to see how this young lad goes.
He has a slight injury at the moment and won’t be travelling to Asia for United’s pre-season tour so we won’t be getting a proper look at him for some time yet.
As I type, Michael Owen is at the Carrington training ground awaiting a medical.
Of course the outcome of a medical is what can make or break a deal for any player – in the case of a player with Michael Owen’s injury record, it is absolutely crucial and they’ll probably want to see him lifting elephants with his legs… or something.
I did say a few days ago that Fergie would sign someone who has not even been linked with United yet and it would raise a few eyebrows and this looks like it is going to be that signing from leftfield.
There can be no doubt that Fergie’s #1 target as far as a striker is concerned was Benzema but with him going to Real Madrid, it has perhaps left options thin on the ground but rather than make a panic buy as an alternative, he is opting for a stop-gap in Michael Owen who will cost nothing, is a proven out-and-out scorer and will buy us time while we perhaps watch how things progress with other targets over the next season or so.
I haven’t really been a massive Michael Owen fan of late because I believe he had lost his passion for the game and was at Newcastle just for the £120,000/week they were reportedly paying him. He has made no secret of the fact that horse racing has become a bigger part of his life over recent years and that will no doubt be the direction he takes once his footballing days are over.
Whether playing for Manchester United, playing for titles and cups and playing alongside better quality players will be what it takes to really get Michael’s juices flowing again remains to be seen (I hope so) but providing we’re not going to be paying him silly wages then I think it could be a fantastic bit of business by Fergie and a great move for Michael who has not won a thing since 2003 when he won the League Cup with Liverpool.
UPDATE
Later this afternoon, it was confirmed that Michael Owen had agreed a two year contract with Manchester United and becomes our second signing of the summer.
Antonio Valencia today signed a four year deal with Manchester United for an undisclosed fee (likely around £16 million).
Comparisons are bound to be drawn with Ronaldo simply because he is likely to be operating on the right wing and already people are pointing to his comparitively poor goal-scoring record for Wigan (6 goals in 47 appearances last season) but his all round play and ability should fit in very well for us.
I think it’s also worth bearing in mind that he is still only 23 (will be 24 when the season starts, however) and there’s plenty of time for improvement and he’s now at the best place to make that improvement.
I also have little doubt that playing for United, if he gets the games, he will score more than six goals in his first season with us.
One thing I think we will see from Valencia that we never got from Ronaldo is a bit of tracking back, tackling and a defensive shift now and again.
All in all, I think Valencia is a very good signing and I hope this is the first of at least three before the season starts.
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