Five Players Sir Alex Should Sign This Summer

Bryan Robson signs for United for £1.5 million and a set of hair straighteners

With the transfer window only 95 days away- not that anyone’s counting- and following Sir Alex’s recent derby day admission that the club tried to sign at least one player in January, it seems inevitable some new faces will be arriving at Old Trafford in the Summer.

Redflagflyinghigh contributor Sam Hewitt, gives us his view on the five players he feels Sir Alex should try and sign come May 22nd.

Wesley Sneijder

With the legend Paul Scholes not getting any younger, United’s midfield is nowhere near good enough without the old maestro finding his pockets of space, playing his one-twos and pinging the ball around the pitch. He doesn’t get in to the box as often as he used too, but he certainly makes us tick and controls the tempo of the game.

No one stands out as a world class midfielder do they? Fletcher, Carrick, Gibson, Anderson? I doubt any of our main rivals here in England and on the continent would choose any of our players over their own would they? I feel we grind out results and lack that spark or creativity in games and Sneijder would definitely fill that void when Scholes does call it a day. I personally feel Scholes can definitely go on another season, maybe two. I just get the feeling that if he feels his time is up, there’s no doubt he’ll walk away with his head held high. It’s not like he has anything more to achieve is there?

Can we wait another season or two to land Sneijder though? We should have got him when he left Real Madrid two seasons ago at a bargain price of £12.5million. Peanuts compared to the recent January spending.
He reminds me of a younger Paul Scholes in a way. Short with a keen eye for goal, strong in possession and can unlock defences with a range of passing with either foot. He also has the ability to score from free-kicks, a threat we’ve lacked since Ronaldo left.

After being an integral part of winning the treble with Inter last season and narrowly losing the World Cup final a couple of months later, his valuation will now have soared over the £40million mark, at least. But with Andy Carrol going for £35million and Torres £50million who knows what Inter will value you at? Lets hope Inter don’t pick up their form in the league and fail to get into next seasons Champions League and we can get him at a cheaper price.

Gareth Bale

A bit like Scholes, Giggsy will be retiring within the next two seasons, I’m not saying that Bale can replace Giggs but he’s probably the most direct, threatening, left sided midfielder in Europe. Look how he tore Inter up in both legs this season.

His electrifying pace and his wand of a left foot are his main strengths. Not only can he utilise his strengths to get into dangerous positions, but he can supply an end product and deliver crosses into the right areas, something Nani doesn’t do regularly enough. He also has an eye for goal, 11 goals so far this season, not bad for a wide player.

Aaron Lennon

Another raid on Spurs, this time the other wing. Lennon is a smaller yet probably faster winger than Bale, Nani and Valencia. He terrifies full-backs just being in possession, scared of his acceleration and especially when he’s already running at them full speed.  His final ball has improved massively over the last couple of seasons, and with United’s hit you on the break style of play and his ability to get in those dangerous positions along with our strikers movement up front, he can certainly exploit teams if he was surrounded by United’s quality players.

Lee Cattermole

This player might surprise everyone, but he reminds me of Roy Keane. His tenacious, sometimes dirty tackling is exactly the way Roy Keane played. Maybe not the leader like Keane was, but with an engine as good as Fletchers, passing just as good as Carrick, better than Anderson and more, a lot more fight than Gibson, he could be a great addition to the squad. He’s young and an England under 21 regular, got a bright future ahead of him, if he can channel his aggression, if…

Maarten Stekelenburg

We all remember how hard it was to replace the great Dane when he left. Coke sniffing Mark Bosnich, open legged Massimo Taibi, over-rated midget Fabien Barthez,  Tim Howard and ball chucking Roy Carrol all tried before Edwin van der Sar finally steadied the ship. His huge commanding presence, communication, steady kicking and all-round top keeper skills will be missed when he retires at the end of the season.

I doubt Kuszczak can step up and be United’s number one, Amos probably needs some more first-team football at another club before he’s given the responsibility of being United’s first choice keeper, Lindegaard should be given an opportunity, but why take the risk when there’s an already made replacement in Stekelenburg?

He not only succeeded Van Der Sar at  Ajax-albeit a few years later-, but also the Dutch national team when he announced his retirement in 2008. At only 28 you could say his best years are ahead of him and after playing in the 2010 World Cup final he definitely has the experience to prove he can handle the big occasion. A third van der Sar replacement could be the best move for both him and United.

Do you agree with Sam’s suggestions? Any glaring omissions or far-fetched suggestions? Give him your input and comment below.

Follow Sam on twitter @sammy__boy and Redflagflyinghigh @RFFH

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