The footballing world has been sent into a frenzy after reports on Wednesday revealed that Manchester United are interested in signing Vinicius Jr.
The Brazilian has been a stellar performer for Real Madrid over the past couple of seasons but with Madrid chasing Kylian Mbappe, they are reportedly ready to offload Vini as they need cash to fund Mbappe’s massive salary demands.
Vinicius Jr has been with Real Madrid’s senior side since 2018 and he’s been a consistent performer over the previous two seasons. Last season, he netted 23 goals in 55 appearances and this campaign, he’s already scored nine in 16 games.
Up until now, everyone thought the 23-year-old was one of those players who will not be sold anytime soon but if the recent rumours are true then Man United have a great chance of signing him in the summer.
Man United, in the recent past, have made some really bad decisions in terms of big-money signings(Di Maria, Sanchez, Pogba, Lukaku) but if Vinicius is really available then the Premier League side won’t mind taking another gamble.
However, three major things need to be sorted before the Red Devils try and sign the 23-year-old.
THE TACTICAL DILEMMA:
In the summer, United will be out in the market looking for a new right-winger and a new central midfielder so the left wing is not of immediate concern but if a player like Vini is up for sale then it will be foolish of them to not go after him.
Though they are naturally left-wingers both Rashford and Garnacho can play on the right which will then help solve the right-winger’s problem and then Vinicius Jr can come in and slot on the left-hand side.
Antony has been a massive failure and there’s very little chance that he is going to remain at the club next season. It would make sense for a current squad player to occupy that position rather than Ten Hag going out and spending more money on a right-winger.
FINANCIAL REQUIREMENTS:
As per the rumours, Manchester United are willing to pay up to £130 million for Vinicius Jr but for that to happen, they will first have to offload all the unwanted players from their squad.
Players like Anthony Martial, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, McTominay, Pellistri and Antony all need to go so that United can gather around £60-70 million from their sales and help fund Vinicius’ move.
Jadon Sancho’s future at United also looks very bleak and if BVB are willing to sign him permanently then the Red Devils should be able to bring in a decent amount of money as well. If Man United fail to qualify for the Champions League, Ten Hag will get a limited transfer budget which means the manager will have to rely majorly on player sales to be able to bring in proper reinforcements.
CONVINCING VINICIUS JR:
If a player like Vinicius Jr is up for sale then several other clubs apart from Manchester United will wish to sign him which means the EPL side will have a massive task on their hands.
The first and most basic thing they will have to do is to secure UCL football for the next season because, without top-level European football, there’s no way Vinicius Jr will agree to move to Old Trafford.
Also, if he is moving out of a club like Real Madrid, the Brazilian will demand a massive salary package which will be a big stumbling block for United. In the recent past, all the high-earners have been big failures at the club so Ten Hag will have to think long and hard before he greenlights this supposed move.
