Manchester United have been tentatively linked with Juventus midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Corriere dello Sport, as cited by Sport Witness, claim the Reds are ‘in the window’ for the 32-year-old, who has one year left on his current deal in Turin.
The recent signings of Adrien Rabiot and Aaron Ramsey means that the Serie A champions are reportedly willing to offload several stars this summer, including Matuidi and Sami Khedira.
The French midfielder certainly has pedigree after winning the World Cup last summer and could even get the best out of Paul Pogba, who he always seems to click with when on international duty.
Moreover, Matuidi could be a relatively short-term fix in midfield and could rotate with the ageing Nemanja Matic who can not still be as effective playing two games a week at this level.
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However, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is not looking for quick fixes. His acquisitions so far prove he is looking well into the future as part of a longer rebuilding process.
Matuidi would only be useful for a couple of years and the signings of ageing quality midfielders in the past, such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, simply haven’t worked out.
If Solskjaer is actually being backed by the owners this summer, then the club should be going all out to sign West Ham midfielder Declan Rice.
The England international has already proven to be one of the most astute defensive midfielders in the Premier League, and occupies a role in which the Reds are undoubtedly weak in.
Rice is 12 years younger than Matuidi and is already showing maturity in the centre of the park; the 20-year-old can only get better.
He is a fantastic reader of the game even at such a young age and seems to have a sixth sense to break up play, before quickly distributing to turn defence into attack.
Rice is exactly what Solskjaer needs in the holding midfielder ‘number 6’ role, in quickly transitioning defence to attack. He also fits Solskjaer’s mould of young English talent the club is targeting this summer.
According to the Evening Standard, West Ham told the Reds earlier in the window that their young midfielder is not for sale at any price; but in reality everyone has a price.
As reported by the BBC, if United are going to bid £70m for 26-year-old defender Harry Maguire, then why not test the London club’s resolve with a similar offer for their star midfielder in what is a highly inflated market.
Rice is definitely the kind of player the Reds should be looking to bring to Old Trafford this summer.
