With 33-year-old Michael Carrick looking increasingly likely to end his long-term stay at Old Trafford in the not too distant future, Louis van Gaal is arguably in desperate need for a new centre-midfielder going into the 2015/16 campaign.
When the former England international was missing from the star-studded Manchester United line-up last season, the overall balance in the team was thrown completely off kilter, leaving many Red Devils fans scratching their heads over just what was so badly missing.
Towards the end of the campaign, it became clear that the likes of Ander Herrera and Daley Blind – whilst offering their own unique qualities to the side – just couldn’t adequately replicate Michael Carrick’s calming influence on the team.
So then, with talk of the new season already present within the wider footballing community, Louis van Gaal has reportedly set his sights on 26-year-old Belgian international and Zenit St. Petersburg midfielder, Axel Witsel.
However, as the bustling no. 28 is also reportedly keen on making the switch to Juventus this summer, are Manchester United ultimately going to miss out on the services of Axel Witsel whether they like it or not?
The Old Trafford faithful will likely be keeping their fingers crossed. Whilst the Belgian may not be able to match Michael Carrick’s skills precisely for the Red Devils next season, he would nonetheless offer a rather impressive individual skill-set for Louis van Gaal to consider ahead of the new campaign.
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Carrick himself wasn’t much of a ball-winner or incredibly combative in the middle of the park. His unmatched vision and flawless composure on the ball often made up for his weaknesses in the modern game, and helped saw his side triumph far more often than not.
Axel Witsel however – despite also paying witness to some pretty swift passing skills and admirable ease with the ball at his feet – may even represent a much more rounded option for Louis van Gaal next season. When it comes to breaking up play and winning possession from the opposition, displaying nice touches with his teammates across the whole pitch, and ultimately possessing the skills of a pure box-to-box man – the 26-year-old really doesn’t disappoint.
He helped win the Russian league this season with his current employers Zenit, and although the Belgian international certainly comes across as a somewhat bulky player when he goes about his business, Witsel nonetheless displays some surprisingly quick-feet and smart ideas for someone of his stature. When given adequate creative licence to do so, the current Petrovsky Stadium favourite certainly shows himself to be no one trick pony.
As is usually the case with Europe’s most coveted talent though, Manchester United are not the only team to have registered an interest in signing the Zenit man ahead of the 2015/16 campaign. Champions League finalists – Juventus – will also reportedly be after the combative midfielder as the new season approaches, and as the player himself has already spoken admirably of the club ahead of a potential move this summer, the signs ultimately don’t look too promising for Louis van Gaal’s current outfit.
Perhaps such a notion should hardly come as much surprise in today’s game. Although Manchester United undoubtedly have some real spending power behind them this summer, their previous signings for the 2014/15 campaign really didn’t shine the club in the best light in all honesty. Yes, the likes of Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao certainly offered a great deal on paper, but as they failed to have much influence out on the pitch for the Red Devils last season, it remains questionable as to which direction the club are actually heading in these days.
Juventus on the other hand have proven to be very shrewd with their spending capabilities, yet equally ambitious when it comes to delivering the results. The combined transfer fees of Andrea Pirlo, Arturo Vidal, Claudio Marchisio and Paul Pogba came to less than £8 million in total. Especially with their recent run in the Champions League in mind, there is therefore very little doubt over Juventus’ ability to reassert their dominance in Europe in the next couple of seasons.
However, considering that Massimiliano Allegri’s side have recently acquired the services of German World Cup winner, Sami Khedira – Manchester United may end up with a chance of signing Axel Witsel after all.
It might not have been his preferred destination with all things considered, but Old Trafford would nevertheless offer the in-demand Belgian the chance to make his mark in the Premier League, and that is an opportunity very few foreign stars ultimately see fit to turn down.
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