Former United great Eric Cantona looks like he might fancy himself as a scout, it has emerged today that he has recommended Marseille midfielder Matheiu Valbuena to Sir Alex.
Now it isn’t as if he as unearthed a gem that none of us had heard of before, Valbuena has enjoyed a fantastic career so far and has had admiring glances from a host of different top flight clubs, but with an endorsement from Cantona are Manchester United now more likely than ever to move for the 26 year old French man?
Valbuena started his career in France playing for numerous sides outside of the top flight, most noticably Libourne Saint-Seurin whom he helped to promotion to Ligue 2, during his time with the club he began to demonstrate exciting ability as an attacking midfielder and it was in 2006 that he moved to Ligue 1 giants Marseille.
His early career at the club was scuppered due to injuries, but after the departure of Franck Ribery he started more games and began to demonstrate the form that has made him an important part of the French international setup. Now in his 5th season with the team he has appeared in 175 games for the club, and netted 20 times.
With the future of Paul Scholes the subject of much debate, the Manchester United hierarchy are looking for a replacement. Anyone stepping into the boots of the long serving midfielder would need, drive, goal scoring ability, passing ability and a total inability to tackle fairly…OK, so the last one isn’t crucial.
Ferguson has been linked to numerous players that could pull the strings for his Old Trafford side, players including Wesley Sneijder and Mario Goetze have been suggested, and they have had a long running interest in Frenchman Valbuena but after the recommendation from Cantona they may be tempted to move for the player in the Summer.
The Champions League tie against Mareille will give Ferguson and his team ample opportunity to look at the player and help them evaluate whether it is a deal they should pursue, should he recover from an ankle injury that has kept him out of action recently.
According to French newspaper La Provence, if the Old Trafford outfit are too move for the creative talent they will open with a bid of around £10million. It is thought that the player would be open to a move should a bid be accepted by Marseille, he has been quoted as saying:
“If an offer comes from a large foreign club it is hard to say no…..But now, I prefer to live in the present.”
I think it is time that Valbuena played on a bigger stage and to me he seems a fantastic replacement for Scholes, he is not too high profile and will get about his job, giving it his all.
£10million would represent good value for money for the player who scored for France against England recently, at 26 he already has some experience, but yet he should still be improving and will peak in the next couple of years. It would be a fantastic move for both parties should a deal be done.
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