Currently separated by three points in the Premier League in fifth and thirteenth places respectively, neither Manchester United or Chelsea have started the season as quickly as they would’ve preferred.
With the Blues having been crowned champions last season and uncharacteristically having taken their foot off the gas this time around, United still appear to be in transition with the club now a force to be reckoned with in the transfer market, yet still susceptible to defeats inflicted by the likes of Swansea City.
With a long way to go of course, it does look as if Manchester City have indeed hit the sweet spot in terms of producing good performances on the field as well as spending effectively off it on Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi and Kevin De Bruyne.
With both the Red Devils and the Blues having some catching up to do, it is quite understandable than fans of these two clubs have short fuses right now when it comes to their players making mistakes and individual costly errors.
Despite United bringing six new first team faces to the club this summer, they are still weak in defence and attack and for Chelsea, several of their dependable stars of last season still seem to be on their holidays so with these shortfalls apparent at the moment, we’ve taken this opportunity to devise a list of five United players who would prove a perfect fit for the Blues.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 Manchester United players who would be a perfect fit for Chelsea.
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Luke Shaw
Prior to signing for Manchester United for a huge £27 million last summer, Luke Shaw was very much fancied to be joining Chelsea from Southampton due to the fact that he grew up in Kingston-upon-Thames as a boyhood fan of the Blues.
While a Chelsea switch wasn’t to be, the form of Cesar Azpilicueta and the sale of Filipe Luis this summer has left some Blues fans more concerned than usual over that particular position.
Azpilicueta’s drop off in performance level hasn’t been as dramatic as Branislav Ivanovic’s at right back but the replacement they brought in for Filipe Luis in Baba Rahman is still someone of an unknown quantity to English supporters.
With Ivanovic struggling more than most to recapture his previous consistent form, Azpilicueta may be reinstalled to right back by Mourinho and with these issues apparent, somebody who is improving and expected to reach their potential with years ahead of him yet is Luke Shaw who is seemingly getting better with every game.
Wayne Rooney
With his contract rebel days now behind him, Wayne Rooney is still a fundamental part of Manchester United’s plans going forward but in those heady days where it looked as if he may have been exiting Old Trafford, Chelsea was mooted as a realistic destination alongside Manchester City.
Undoubtedly a player who Jose Mourinho rates despite some of our Blues fans claiming Rooney is now past it, the former Everton man would surely contribute something positive wherever he played, given his work ethic, desire and goalscoring record in the past.
With the player himself probably admitting that he needs to score closer to 20 goals a season, Rooney is versatile in respect of playing in the number 10 or number nine roles and with Mourinho preferring players who can interchange position, we’re sure he’d love to work with Rooney.
Morgan Schneiderlin
When it comes to Chelsea’s central midfield, the only real player who is held in total high regard right now is Nemanja Matic with Cesc Fabregas’ form having tailed off dramatically while both Ramires and John Obi Mikel struggle to shake their status as utility squad members who simply run about a lot.
The fact that Fabregas’ powers have waned is hugely frustrating for Chelsea supporters however with the former Arsenal man having enjoyed a fantastic introduction to life at Stamford Bridge enjoying a deadly combination with Diego Costa in the early part of last season.
With Blues supporters hoping rather than expecting the signing of Paul Pogba this summer, central midfield is somewhere they would’ve liked to have seen Jose Mourinho strengthen this summer regardless, let alone the likes of Fabregas dropping off.
Thus, somebody like Morgan Schneiderlin would be a perfect fit for Chelsea as he offers a little bit of everything in the engine room and United fans will tell you that he has been steady enough so far having made the step up from a mid-ranking Premier League side in Southampton.
Juan Mata
Having won Chelsea’s Player of the Year prize back-to-back in both 2012 and 2013, Juan Mata has already proved that he was a perfect fit of a signing for the Blues.
In rather strange circumstances he was of course then sold onto Manchester United by Jose Mourinho who no longer saw a regular position for him in the team but if the truth be told, Mata has now gone on to a higher level while the likes of Oscar struggles to recapture his best form.
There is of course no way Juan Mata will be back at Chelsea any time soon but having been there and done it himself, there’s no denying he was a player who fitted in at Stamford Bridge like a house on fire.
Matteo Darmian
Now while it’s still early days with this Italian international Matteo Darmian has quietly and confidently gone about his business in admirable fashion at right back since signing for Manchester United this summer.
With Darmian representing the new breed of modern day full back in regards to attacking and defending in equal measure, we’ve seen Branislav Ivanovic struggle to scale the same heights he set not only last season but in his whole Chelsea career previously at the start of this season.
So given this weak spot in Chelsea’s side at the moment, we feel the Blues could do with some sensible performances from the likes of Darmian but given we’re only just into the 2015/16 campaign, things could switch around very quickly indeed.
