Man proposes, God disposes. Getting too dramatic, may be, but well, in hindsight it feels like Manchester United had a lucky escape in the summer.
This summer has been mental for Manchester United. The defensive pillars of the team had all but withered away, and in place ground-breaking signings been made. Under new management United tore asunder the antediluvian shackles of yore, broke the bank, rewrote British transfer history, signed world class players yet one gets the feel the squad hasn’t been bolstered adequately.
The need of the hour was a world class central midfielder. Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal was heavily linked with the club but the deal never materialised. We will probably never know whether United at all made any formal approach to sign him or it was completely a media-fabrication but judging by the plethora of articles published in Italy, England and Chile, we won’t be playing the fool, if we tend to believe there was some sort of definite interest for the Juventus midfielder.
One of the reasons put forth by media (read as Manchester United camp) why Manchester United chose not to make any formal offer for Vidal is that the club was skeptical about signing him because of his recent injury records. The 27-year-old midfielder is arguably the best in his position and role, however United harboured concerns over his fitness, as Vidal underwent knee surgery towards the end of last season, his below par performances at the World Cup was a natural corollary.
Hard to blame United here if they chose not to flirt again with an injury-prone player, having gone through a torrid experience with Owen Hergreaves few seasons back.
And it seems like they are vindicated. According to reports from Italy, Vidal has aggravated his troublesome knee whilst on international duty with Chile.
Vidal missed a routine training session in Miami, where Chile face Mexico and Haiti in friendlies and was seen using a ice-bag on his knees for protective measures. He might undergo few tests before returning to Italy.
I seriously hope that his injury is not serious, for as a football lover, I do want to see him playing regularly for Juventus, but can’t help but think, United probably have made the right choice by passing the opportunity of signing him this summer.
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