22 Apr 2011 12:32:00
Wesley Sneijder – Inter (Getty Images)
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ANALYSIS
By Greg Stobart | Northern Correspondent
In the last two years that Sir Alex Ferguson has been looking for creative midfielder to add to his Manchester United side, Wesley Sneijder‘s name has cropped up more than any other.
The Inter playmaker is being tipped for a £25 million summer move to Old Trafford, where he would be welcomed as the long-term successor to Paul Scholes.
Ferguson would have signed Sneijder last summer but the Dutchman’s outstanding season for Inter and five goals at the World Cup meant his price tag shot up to more than £35m and it was an almost impossible deal to complete.
But the circumstances have changed on many counts and there now appears to be enough will – at least from Manchester United and Sneijder himself – for this transfer to become a reality this summer.
For a start, it seems increasingly unlikely that United are going to be able to rely on another season from Scholes. The curtain is finally falling on the 36-year-old’s glorious career at Old Trafford and it most probably reached its end point when he was sent off in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City last weekend.
Scholes was still showing in the early part of this season exactly why Ferguson faces such a conundrum in replacing him. He is a master of keeping possession, able to play quick and incisive passes when under pressure and killer longer balls when given space.
Made for Manchester | Sneijder has proven his ability to produce on the biggest stage
Luka Modric is considered the most natural fit as a player who can control a game in central areas but United will not be willing to meet Tottenham’s £50m valuation of the Croatian. Blackpool’s Charlie Adam has been mentioned as a candidate but he appears to be a cheap, back-up option, especially as his form has dipped since the turn of the year.
Ferguson has £50m to spend this summer, plus cash raised from any players sales, and Sneijder could be the symbol of the reconstructed side, with a goalkeeper and a striker also high on the agenda.
He would arrive as a proven winner, having won the Champions League last season and domestic titles in Italy, Spain and the Netherlands. While other big-money signings such as Dimitar Berbatov have failed to consistently produce at the highest level, Sneijder has demonstrated that he can handle the pressure of performing under the closest scrutiny.
The Dutchman has also made it known for a long time, mainly via third parties, that he would love to play in the Premier League while he is still at the top of his game. He was enthralled by the electric atmosphere when Inter played at Tottenham in November and would welcome the chance to join close friends Rafael Van der Vaart and Johnny Heitinga in England.
At 26, the former Ajax and Real Madrid man should be entering his peak years and his poor relationship with Inter coach Leonardo could further facilitate a move. Despite signing a new contract earlier this season that ties him to Inter until 2015, Sneijder is unhappy and would jump at the chance to join United.
Sneijder was left out of the starting line-up in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Parma amid rumours that Leonardo is displeased with his attitude in training. Leonardo is being heavily criticised in the Italian media for Inter’s poor form, including a 3-0 derby defeat to AC Milan, and Sneijder appears to be a symbol of unrest among the players.
Inter were adamant last summer that Sneijder would not be leaving after his stunning displays helped bring an historic treble to the San Siro.
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“Despite signing a new contract earlier this season that ties him to Inter until 2015, Sneijder is unhappy and would jump at the chance to join United” |
But the talk in Italy is that Inter president Massimo Moratti is willing to sanction Sneijder’s sale in order to raise funds to rebuild the club’s ageing midfield as their era of dominance comes to an end.
Sneijder is the kind of player the Stretford End would adore, a wonderfully gifted footballer who can light up those drab games with an exhibition of passing and shooting. The likes of Michael Carrick and Anderson can have decent games but neither have proved they are capable of running a game or of making something happen when the score is goalless with 10 minutes to play.
Sneijder would have to be able to adapt his game to play centrally or wide in a four-man midfield as well as his favoured role, as the attacking midfielder in a 4-3-3.
Ferguson likes to mix up his set-up depending on the opposition but has recently settled on a 4-4-2 formation, with Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez paired up front. In a deeper role, Sneijder’s defensive capabilities could be tested but he has the eye for a pass that United have been crying out for during a season in which pragmatism has far outweighed style.
Many United fans in the early part of the campaign bemoaned the club’s failure to sign Van der Vaart and Sneijder would provide the inspiration and probing creativity that was so startlingly lacking against Manchester City at Wembley.
Sneijder would be asked to dictate the tempo, to pull the strings in midfield and create more space in the final third for the likes of Rooney, Hernandez and Nani.
United have also been missing goals from central midfield since Scholes adapted his game five or six years ago, and have regularly had to watch the likes of Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard scoring more than 15 times in a season.
Sneijder has a brilliant knack of scoring goals thanks to his ability to strike the ball from the edge of the penalty area, while he is also dangerous from set-pieces.
Ferguson has pursued Sneijder for a long time, next season the Dutchman could be showing us why.
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