With Antonio Conte resigning from Juventus yesterday, the burning question is whether Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal will join Manchester United in the summer. We reported last night that Gazzetta Dello Sport cited English tabloid Daily Mail that Manchester United had reached an agreement with a €44m offer to sign the 27 year old.
However fresh reports from Tuttosport claim otherwise. The newspaper claims that the player is happy at Juventus and is currently enjoying his vacation post the World Cup in Brazil.
Vidal was quoted as saying, “We’ll see what happens when I return to Italy. I’m very calm and doing my best to fully recover from my injury. Things are going well and I’m happy at Juventus;everything else, my agent takes care of it.”
Manchester United? It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world but I still have a contract with Juventus. It’d be disrespectful towards my club and my teammates to talk about another club.”
The view from reputed journalists: Alfredo Pedulla had yesterday claimed in his blog that the Red Devils are willing to make a whooping €50m offer for the midfielder with the player earning an amazing salary of €8m-€9m per season if he makes the switch to the Old Trafford outfit.
Fabrizio Romano, reputed staff of the Gianluca Di Marzio site however stuck to his view that there has been no official offer from Manchester United to Juventus and there has been no agreement.
Conte’s resignation and what lies in store: So what led to Conte’s sudden resignation? We had clearly mentioned yesterday that Juventus had earlier promised Conte that they won’t sell Vidal. But the Turin outfit desperately need cash to mount a Champions League challenge next season. This might have forced the Old Lady’s hands to sell one of their prized asset that had angered Conte which ultimately led to his resignation from the managerial role.
Soccerlens Editor Saikat Mandal’s view: With so many conflicting news flying in the media, either you completely believe the report or ignore it. Sky Italia are convinced that no talks have taken taken place, not to talk about agreement, but Conte’s shock resignation leaves a big doubt at the same time.
Soccerlens Editor Tom Gatehouse’s view: Before Conte’s resignation, I would have said there was little chance of Vidal heading to Old Trafford, but now nothing seems secure!
Juve won the Scudetto last season with a record points tally, have an exciting, well-balanced squad capable of going far in the Champions League, and under Conte, all looked rosy. But now with the Italian gone, a number of stars may think the time is right to move on, and so for the first time, I can see Vidal signing for Manchester United.
Vidal is exactly what United and Van Gaal need to kick-start the new era. The club have barely touched their midfield for years, and it’s got to the stage now that major work needs to be done, and fast. The 27-year-old would bring some much needed steel and a real driving force that could well power United back into the top four next season.
However, the swashbuckling Chilean is still the toast of Turin, and United will have to break the bank to secure the midfielder; but boy, is he worth it!
Soccerlens Writer Tamojit Chakraborty’s view: Despite Conte’s resignation, will the player himself reject his Champions League aspirations to join a bigger brand which won’t at least this season offer the highest echelons of European football? The Red Devils are willing to offer a massive salary which will be enticing for the player hence a transfer might be on the cards. Look out United faithful.
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