Date: 25th June 2011 at 9:34am
Written by:
Nani goal

Is Mr Da Cunha set to stay at Old Trafford?

Despite speculation of late to the contrary, recent reports have suggested that Nani will not be moved on to pastures new, and will be assured by Sir Alex Ferguson that he still features in his plans as the supposed Summer re-building of the squad begins to take shape.

Many among the United faithful will have been baffled by speculation linking the young Portuguese winger with a move away from the club, given the fact the recently finished season had been his most successful to date, a season in which many saw his potential produce an end product that led to 10 goals in all competitions, and 19 assists. Described as a breakthrough season for someone who had struggled to emulate the success of Cristiano Ronaldo before him, it was believed that he had come of age and was no producing the form that had caused United to invest such significant funds on him in the first place.

However, despite this drastic improvement in performance, the second half of the season saw him faced with more time starting on the bench, much like teammate Dimitar Berbatov. Having spent much of the season playing out on the right, the return of Antonio Valencia, a traditional right winger, forced Nani to try his luck out on the left, an area that has proved problematic in failing to find consistency in his play. Consequently the good form of Valencia on his return, and the hit-and-miss results of Nani on the left led to a preference to Park taking up the other side, and Nani forced to endure more spells as a substitute, culminating in a failure to be given a starting role in the defeat to Barcelona in the Champion’s League final. Perhaps the lack of defensive cover was an issue when considering this, or perhaps Valencia was deemed more effective on the right, with his more traditional play leaving less exposure on the wing, but many fans felt the treatment of someone who had proved so effective in gaining results for a team that had not played well at times, was extremely unfair. It has been suggested that the treatment of him and Berbatov, considering their exploits had been misjudged and that greater rewards should have met two players who had found themselves far more comfortable in the United set up than they had done since their arrivals.

Now, with the Summer upon us and the transfer window leading many newspapers and gossip sites to go into overdrive with speculation, Manchester United have consistently been linked with activity both in terms of imminent arrivals and impending departures. And the two names often reported to be displaying their discontent is Berbatov and Nani. Matters will not have been aided by the arrival of Ashley Young, signing a five year contract to add to an ever-expanding list of wingmen at Ferguson’s disposal. Such saturation of wing options have led many to believe this has been a signal that Nani is surplus to requirements, despite the lack of justification among many for such a thing to occur.

However, if the latest speculation is to be believed then fans can be safe in the knowledge that a player who was a key feature in United winning an unprecedented 19th league title will not be going anywhere this Summer and will be fighting for a place come the start of the new campaign in August.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya3CH4zgPlc

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4 responses to “United Have No Plans To Sell Nani”

  1. glory_chaser says:

    Oh, I am so angry right now to see my beloved MUFC blowing money on mediocrity again. First Valencia, now Young. I look across the city at the dirty blues and for the first time in my life, I have to admit that they have a better squad, and to rub salt in our wounds, they have young players who will only improve. We need to get a right back pronto coz rafael ain’t gonna do a one man solo all season. What I don’t get is, we always seem to spend money on average players these days. I am NOT looking forwards to the coming season.

  2. A Red Chicken says:

    In reply to glory_chaser:

    While I agree that I too believe Young is mediocre at best and why we brought him for the price we did I’ll never know, I don’t for one second agree that Valencia is just mediocre.

    I believe Nani and Valencia have a wonderful partnership and bring out the best in each other. They’re also different to one another and offer the team two completely different outlets but with similar results. While Valencia is ever reliable and a consistent crosser of the ball, Nani offers the unpredictability that Valencia’s game lacks and that rare skill of being able to make something out of nothing and win us a game even if he’s having a below par performance.

    Hearing a former Championship manager calling Young ‘Nani and Valencia in one’ has got to be the funniest and daftest think I’ve heard in a long time. But he’s here so he better deliver.

    And after all that, I’m very glad Nani is staying at the club. He’s one of the best wingers in the world when on top form and is only getting better and better. Here’s too many more flips at OT next season…

  3. Peter says:

    @ glory_chaser
    Only Fabregas has more assists than Young over the last 5 years. Give the guy a break. As for critising Valencia, rating Shitty and not looking forward to next season, please fuck off.

  4. TITHE FARM CANTONA says:

    valencia, mediochre???!!! have a word!! nani is class, we have to keep him. As for young, i think he’s very hot and cold but he’s been playing for a shit team. Lets just hope we bring out the best in him