It’s the off-season for all club competition, almost all of the international play currently being staged are just meaningless friendlies, so you know what that means? It is indeed the summer silly season, i.e. time to talk some transfer rumors. So with that in mind, let’s dive right in to the latest narratives surrounding Manchester United.
And we’ve got a double shot of MUFC transfer talk for you today! The first post can be found at this link. As of now, United’s transfer window is, well, it’s lying on the ground and you can poke it with a stick to see if it has any life at all. That’s from the incomings perspective.
Hence we’ll mostly discuss the outgoings (where there is a lot of action) in this post.
But we’ll start with our one potential incoming- former Brentford and Tottenham man Christian Eriksen. The Bees want to keep him, but they are also resigned to the fact that he’ll move on a free transfer. Tottenham are said to be keen on bringing him back, and no matter where he goes, it’ll be a feel-good story.
And if there is one thing United need right now, it’s positive vibes for a change. According to ESPN (scroll down to the bottom of the post), Eriksen is currently out on holiday where he’s contemplating his next move.
Elsewhere, Nemanja Matic and Jose Mourinho, are reunited, and it feels so good. This will mark the third time that he’ll play for The Special One, who now manages AS Roma, as the 33-year-old leaves Manchester United on a free transfer.
The Serbian signed a one-year deal where he’ll presumably slot right in as Mourinho’s “manager on the pitch” or “field general” of sorts in the holding midfield. Chelsea was the other club where the two teamed up.
Moving on, Edinson Cavani could be headed back to his home continent, as top Argentine club Boca Juniors are keen on the Uruguayan striker.
“They were born to play for this club, but whether we can afford them is another matter,” Bocas club President Juan Roman Riquelme said on Wednesday in an interview broadcast on Argentine television.
“I listen to a lot of things. We are very happy with the squad we have but we’re talking about star players.”
The other player referred to in the “they” is Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal- remember him and the non-stop transfer saga he had with United in 2014? It was about as tedious as a transfer saga can be, and it all ended up being much ado about nothing.
Vidal is now with Inter Milan, where he is expected to leave by mutual consent.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Bank (TheSportsBank.Net) and author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” as well as “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune, and he co-hosts the After Extra Time podcast, part of Edge of the Crowd Network. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.