Manchester United have had a bid in the region of £36 million for Barcelona’s versatile RB, Sergi Roberto. At 25 years of age, Sergi is yet to hit his peak. He is a product of the famed La Masia academy and shot to fame after scoring the winner in Barcelona’s astonishing 6-1 win over PSG. For a young boy who was humbled in Paris after being absolutely battered at RB by Julian Draxler, he showed unreal maturity, calmness and grace to prod the ball past a helpless Trapp.
Having to part ways with Dani Alves, one of the best RB’s of all time is a daunting aspect for any club. Barcelona sought to replace him with Aleix Vidal, but an injury setback meant Sergi Roberto was thrust into the RB role. And Boy didn’t he do well? He has forced a supposed Alves replacement to settle for a place on the bench.
Read: Why Man Utd did not sign Isco in 2013.
He helped himself to an impressive 47 appearances last season, scoring 1 and assisting 6 goals. Luis Enrique was quick to highlight his importance in the team by quelling any rumours of a move away from Camp Nou.
La Masia graduates seldom head out of their homes, but given the talent, Sergi possesses, he wouldn’t shy away from a move to England to further his skills.
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With Chelsea and Manchester United leading the race for his signature, let’s look at what the best move for him would be.
Chelsea have had a dismal transfer window so far, losing out on supposed transfer targets. Antonio Conte was visibly frustrated when questioned about the sale of Nemanja Matic, showing he doesn’t experience autonomy at the club. He is known to be in the market for a defensive midfielder and Sergi Roberto tops his list for the replacement of Nemanja Matic at the heart of the Chelsea midfield.
Manchester United are in for his signature as they believe they lack defensive cover for the full-back positions. Sergi Roberto has proven to be an able right back and can also be employed down the left side. Antonio Valencia is ageing and cannot keep up with the same intensity throughout the season, Darmian is not a left back by trade, all positive signs for a potential starting spot for Sergi Roberto.
For any player, playing for the country is the ultimate goal. One can only expect to feature for their country if they are regular. Chelsea are well stocked in the centre of midfield with Bakayoko, Kante and Fabregas the sure-shot starters. It’s difficult for Sergio to start above them in midfield. While he might displace them for a few matches, we cannot expect that to happen every game week. While at United, he can expect to start a game more often given United’s lack of depth in the full back positions.
Given the options in front of him, Manchester United seems to be the better proposition.
