Juventus set to swoop in for underutilized Manchester United star
Juventus and Atletico Madrid are eyeing up bids for Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera
Lost in the madness of Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal continuing to play Marouane Fellaini in the midfield, is the fact that he isn’t utilizing the more talented Ander Herrera. The United boss may soon pay for that mistake if the Spaniard leaves Old Trafford for interested parties Juventus or Atletico Madrid.
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The Daily Mail reports that Juventus leads Atletico and a host of other clubs for Herrera’s signature this summer. The Old Lady sees Herrera as a suitable replacement for their midfield star Paul Pogba, who’s expected to leave the club this summer.
Diego Simeone would love to bring Herrera back home to Madrid for his Atletico Club. It’s thought that Herrera would prefer a move back to his native country and he would be a big boost for Simeone’s offense.
The fact that clubs like Juventus and Atletico still see substantial value in Herrera should concern United fans. Surely if the midfielder is good enough for those world powers he should be playing ahead of the likes of Fellaini and Michael Carrick at United. Van Gaal’s preference for other alternatives is baffling at best.
The manager’s favoritism for lesser players is a huge factor in Herrera’s desire to play elsewhere next season. You have to wonder if he’ll be the only United star to seek asylum away from van Gaal’s bizarre personnel decisions. He could be the first of many stars who will explore their options of moving away from Old Trafford this summer.
Losing Herrera in and of itself isn’t a crushing blow for United. He’s a good player and deserves to be in their starting 11 at the moment, but he isn’t a world-class midfielder. He’s an above-average Premier League midfielder, but certainly isn’t on the level of a player like Pogba.
It’s more the principle of losing Herrera that should serve as a red flag for the Red Devils. If a player like that is already looking to engineer a move away from the club, it speaks poorly of the manager and the state of the dressing room. It says that van Gaal may have already lost a great deal of credibility with his players.
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You can’t blame Ander Herrera for wanting to find a new club this summer. If you were a talented midfielder who was sitting on the bench in favor or Marouane Fellaini you’d be looking for a new club to call home too.