Manchester United have more or less completed the signing of Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid. But the quality so vitally needed in the centre of midfield is still absent. With the move for Arturo Vidal falling through in the last few days, the Red Devils’ best option seems to be highly-rated Fiorentina player Juan Cuadrado.
Reports today morning suggested that the Colombian was unsure about his future and stated that he could move away from Italy. United are said to be preparing a €40 million bid for the 26 year-old, but they face stiff competition from a La Liga giant.
Reliable Spanish website Sport.es have reported that Cuadrado is also on top of Barcelona’s wish-list, in the last few days of the transfer window. Manager Luis Enrique and the club’s Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta are scheduled to have a meeting today to decide on the strategy to be adopted in the last week before the transfer market slams shut.
The Catalans are also said to be pursuing Koke from Atletico Madrid and Marco Reus from Borussia Dortmund, but Cuadrado is the prime target. The midfielder was a star for his national side in the recent World Cup and is being closely tracked by Barcelona, who are seeking reinforcements in the middle of the park after the departure of Cesc Fabregas. Alex Song too, could be on the way out, while Xavi is in the closing stages of his career. The club have signed Ivan Rakitic, but clearly feel that more players are required for them to win back their La Liga title.
With the two-year transfer ban put on Barcelona postponed for now, the club will do a good job to sign as many quality players as they can before FIFA activates it.
If the deal were to go through, it would mean that United would once again miss out on a world-class signing, despite being linked to him for such a long period. New manager Louis Van Gaal is still looking for first win as manager after a disappointing draw away at Sunderland on Sunday. His central midfielders for the day, Tom Cleverley and Darren Fletcher, were both extremely poor, and the Dutchman knows his team needs to improve vastly in that area to stand any chance of bringing back Champions League football to Old Trafford.
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