Expect The Unexpected When Man United Make Summer Signings

MANCHESTER United are finalising a shortlist of summer transfer targets. The club’s scouts, the most active being the manager’s brother Martin Ferguson, would rival a pilot for flying miles as they monitor players around Europe and beyond. Of the dozen players United are interested in, three or four are likely to sign and now is the time that contact is made with agents.

United spoke to Wesley Sneijder a year ago and the move went nowhere after he demanded the earth – and then some. They talked to Chilean winger Alexis Sanchez. He was keen to join United, he even said that he had been a childhood United fan – don’t they all? – and his agent gave his word. Money had been talked and heads nodded until Barça flashed her considerable charms and paid €10m more than United had agreed. Sanchez and Sneijder were unusual in that they were obvious targets who were courted by United’s rivals.

United seldom go for the obvious. When fans were demanding to sign the Sheffield Wednesday striker David Hirst in November 1992, Sir Alex Ferguson instead went for a Frenchman called Eric Cantona.

The Old Trafford club prefer to operate in stealth, rather than the media-led bartering which surrounded the transfer of Dimitar Berbatov. Sky Sports don’t need to position a garishly suited presenter outside Old Trafford on transfer deadline day.

United believe such speculation only inflates the price, especially if United’s richer rivals are alerted. So they try and work with agents they trust, like the Portuguese ‘super agent’ Jorge Mendes, who became David de Gea’s representative when United entered negotiations with the Madrileno. By that time his old advisor had talked about United’s interest and the news was out.

Ferguson and chief executive David Gill take great delight in surprising the media with a new signing. Nobody had an inkling that Anderson, Nani, Javier Hernandez, Patrice Evra or Nemanja Vidic were coming, in part because United requested and rewarded secrecy from the clubs with whom they were negotiating, but also because those players were not on the mainstream radar as big name targets. It will be the same this summer, with the club going for the less obvious, emerging rather than established talents, even from the bigger clubs with whom United are preparing to barter.

Antonio Valencia was a classic recent United signing. He wasn’t even the main man at Wigan Athletic. Liverpool had shown interest a season before he signed for United in 2009, but backed off when Wigan mentioned £12m. United paid £16m a year later and consider it good business.

Fans compared Valencia to former winger Andrei Kanchelskis, an ultra quick one trick pony – albeit the most difficult thing to do in football – beat a man and deliver a fine cross. Kanchelskis scored far more often and the United players teased Valencia about his lack of goals as much as they chided him about driving his old BMW 3-series in his first season at Old Trafford. The Ecuadorian, who was raised in poverty close to the country’s then troubled border with Colombia, is not one for ostentation nor raising his profile. The father of one is polite but painfully shy and a very reluctant interviewee. A religious, regular churchgoer who turned to United’s chaplain John Boyers after suffering a double break and dislocation of his left ankle against Rangers in November 2010, Valencia credits Ferguson with teaching him to be more prolific in front of goal. A former striker himself, Ferguson took pride in his personal coaching and the result is a winger more inclined to go for goal as he did in United’s 5-0 victory at Wolverhampton last week.

The 26-year-old has suffered more injuries this season. He missed the first month of the season and started just two league games prior to December, before becoming a key player in January and February. Another injury saw him out until that Wolves game, with Ferguson saying in Monday’s programme notes that: “It’s good to have Valencia back in action and in such brilliant form. His form before his injury was good and he’s just picked up back from where he left off. He is a real team player, creating openings for others throughout the game as well as scoring himself.”

Valencia will be vital as United attempt to continue a run of form which has seen nine wins and a draw from the last ten games and pushed the champions three points ahead of City. The Blues’ South Americans may make all the headlines, but the Reds are more than satisfied with their unassuming Ecuadorian.

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/sport-ne...n-united-make-summer-signings-55578-30639930/

Didn't realise we's signed Ronaldo in the last 7 yrs, thought it was longer ago than that.

Good article, and the reason why nobody should try to guess who we buy.

We've always had a fairly mixed transfer policy. We may have signed players with big reputations, and for big money, but we've also had our fair share of unknowns. Not all of them have been successes, but the success rate of these signings have been pretty high I would say.

And, it's why people shouldn't make judgements about players before they see them.

Kind of an obvious article that.