Barcelona eyeing January move for Manchester United star
Barcelona want more options for their midfield
Andres Iniesta can’t serve as the engine for Barcelona’s midfield forever. As such, the Catalan giants are naturally looking for his long-term successor. The latest target to fill the role for Ernesto Valverde’s squad is Manchester United star Ander Herrera.
The Spaniard enjoyed a lot of success playing for Jose Mourinho last season, but he’s seen his role minimized this year. Largely as a result of the arrival of Nemanja Matic, Herrera has only managed to earn two Premier League starts on the campaign. He’d certainly welcome the opportunity to earn more regular playing time at another large European club.
His lack of involvement for United could make him a relatively modest acquisition for Barcelona. Spanish sources allege that the La Liga leaders are already expressing strong interest in the versatile midfielder. His transfer price tag should be further depressed by the fact that his contract at Old Trafford runs out after this year.
Now that we’ve established the fact that Barcelona can afford Herrera it’s prudent to ask whether or not he’s good enough to play in Lionel Messi’s squad. The idea that Barcelona are interested in signing a player who can’t get into Manchester United’s starting XI is sure to prompt a lot of questions among the club’s fan base.
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All of those questions are very fair. If Barcelona think Herrera is going to take over for Andres Iniesta they need to recalibrate their expectations. Jose Mourinho is a lot of things, but he’s not a poor judge of talent. There’s a reason Herrera isn’t getting the playing time he’d like under The Special One.
Herrera struggles in the Premier League due to his lack of physicality and athleticism. It’s possible the transition to La Liga could ease some of those struggles. Spain’s top flight is every bit as competitive as its English counterpart, but it relies more on skill. Herrera does have the talent on the ball to play a role for Barcelona.
In the end, I’d expect Herrera to stay put in January. He provides United with reasonable depth in the midfield and Mourinho won’t want to change his squad too much in the middle of the year.
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Barcelona,m for their part, are likely going to monitor a number of skillful midfielders ahead of the winter window. Once that evaluation process begins, they’ll likely opt to chase younger, more talented players. Ander Herrera to Barcelona makes for a good rumour, but it’s unlikely to come to fruition.