Former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre is hoping for a return to the Premier League as soon as possible. The Frenchman has been training with his old club in a bid to get fit ahead of any potential moves.
Silvestre won five Premier League titles in nine years at Old Trafford before a brief spell at Arsenal. At 35 a career in top level football looked to be over, particularly as he was close to signing for Indian outfit FC Mumbai.However, the French international is certain he can still perform at the top level and is hoping to find a club sooner, rather than later.
With 40 caps for France and 361 appearances for United, Silvestre offers a wealth of experience and is well aware of what it takes to succeed. Comfortable both at left back and centre back he could be a shrew signing for a Premier League team who are in need of numbers and experience at the back. Below we take a look at who might be interested.
Aston Villa
- Ron Vlaar aside, Paul Lambert has been operating with a fairly youthful defence so far this season. While the likes of Ciaran Clark, Joe Bennet and Eric Lichaj have shown potential, they are all under 25. Villa will want to continue their progression, but as a back up option Silvestre’s experience could be invaluable. Equally, the youngsters could learn from him which will only aid their development.
QPR
- Without a win in the Premier League, Mark Hughes could do worse than to take a punt on Silvestre. He has already secured the signings of ageing players with big club experience, with the likes of Jose Bosingwa and Park Ji-Sung. QPR look set for a difficult season and Silvestre could prove to be a calming influence at the back, more so than Clint Hill and Anton Ferdinand may prove to be.
West Ham
- The Hammers have made a solid start to the Premier League season but Sam Allardyce is not blessed with a great deal of options at centre back. Winston Reid and James Collins have proved themselves while James Tomkins is dependable back up. After that, Big Sam is left with a number of unproven young prospects. The former Blackburn boss is capable of getting the best out of older players and Silvestre could be the latest player to benefit from that.
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He could have been good backup at West Ham. We should really have a 4th centre back at the club incase of injuries. But he already had a trial at the club and Big Sam rejected him. Personally I think that West Ham shouldn’t have released Abdoulaye Faye. He always performed well in the Championship last season, but for some reason we didnt offer him a new contract
He could have been good backup at West Ham. We should really have a 4th centre back at the club incase of injuries. But he already had a trial at the club and Big Sam rejected him. Personally I think that West Ham shouldn\’t have released Abdoulaye Faye. He always performed well in the Championship last season, but for some reason we didnt offer him a new contract