With the transfer window now slammed shut until January 1st, the loan window for Football League clubs opened yesterday meaning that all of the Championship, League One and League Two’s finest can try and poach exciting youngsters hot out of Premier League academies on a temporary basis.
One man who is set to be on the move shortly is Manchester United’s James Wilson who after accumulating 14 first team games for the Red Devils in the Premier League, is now expected to receive more regular playing time in England’s second tier with Paul Clement’s Derby County heavily linked.
While a short-term move such as this would usually be endorsed by Manchester United fans given Wilson’s age and what have you, our resident Red Devils aren’t sure this is the best plan Louis van Gaal has ever had considering the only other two out-and-out forward options Manchester United have are both Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial right now.
After Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie both exited Old Trafford in the summer, United toiled to find striking reinforcements, eventually settling for Martial but left behind aren’t many options for van Gaal to utilise up top with the Dutchman even claiming that Marouane Fellaini could receive some playing time in the role this term.
United fans will obviously be hoping Rooney and Martial stay fit for the majority of the campaign but they can’t help but question van Gaal’s decision to be seemingly allowing Wilson out on loan given their striking shortfall.
With this theme in mind, we’ve devised five reasons why Wilson should be staying put this autumn.
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Click on the image below to reveal the 5 reasons why Manchester United shouldn’t loan out James Wilson.
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Because they’re incredibly thin on the ground for strikers
The most obvious reason on our shortlist is the sheer fact that United are lacking for numbers up top this campaign.
With all of Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez exiting the club this summer, just Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial and Wilson remain as striking options up top and with Rooney often injured and Martial an unknown quantity, surely keeping Wilson around would be the sane thing to do?
We saw the bar set very highly by Manchester City a few years ago when they had Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko, Alvaro Negredo and Sttevan Jovetic all in the same side as the Citizens battles on four fronts and with United back in the Champions League this term, surely all of the squad will get a run out and some point.
We think that if Wilson does complete a temporary switch as expected, United simply have to include an immediate recall option in the deal should an injury crisis occur.
Because he’s already proved he can score in the Premier League
Yes he’s only scored three Premier League goals in his fledgling career to date but lets not forget, James Wilson enjoyed something of a dream debut back in May time during the 2013/14 season where he bagged a brace on his first ever start for the Red Devils against Hull City.
Going up against seasoned professionals in Curtis Davies and Alex Bruce at the back for the Tigers, Wilson proved he could mix it in the top flight back then and the player must’ve improved on the training field since then.
Registering his other goal against QPR at Loftus Road in the 2014/15 campaign last term, Wilson has done more in United’s first team than the likes of Yaya Sanogo have ever done at Arsenal so perhaps he’s someone United should be working a lot more closely with as a wildcard option from the bench more often this term.
Because playing Fellaini up top would be seen as desperate for United
With Louis van Gaal having already admitted that one way to address his striking shortfall was to deploy Marouane Fellaini as a striker this season, we think this would only wash with United fans for a terribly short period.
With United criticised by their own fans and ironically Sam Allardyce last season for their long ball style against West Ham United at Upton Park that ultimately earned a draw through Daley Blind, this was the fixture that proceeded Louis van Gaal’s meltdown and do United fans really want to go there again?
In truth, utilising Fellaini up top would only come to avail if both Wayne Rooney and Anthony Martial weren’t available but with United battling on four front this term, injuries can happen and at the end of the day, United playing a long ball style to a false target man in Fellaini would be seen as a desperate move by all involved.
Because he and Anthony Martial can work together
It’s crazy to think that in James Wilson, he is a 19-year-old who is seemingly set to join a Championship club on loan while for another 19-year-old in Anthony Martial, he’s just become the world’s most expensive teenager ever at £36 million.
Despite the huge gap in their price tags and overall development so far in their careers, they are still both teenagers at the end of the day so wouldn’t it be a good idea for the duo to receive an elongated spell together training at United’s ranks instead of Wilson disappearing for a period?
And who knows, the pair could one day be leading United’s strikeforce together?
Because his star is on the rise anyway
When players progress through the respective age groups at international level, this is a big deal and luckily enough for James Wilson, he grasped his chance with the England Under-21’s with both hands in the recent fixture against the United States.
Scoring the only goal that meant Gareth Southgate’s young Three Lions prevailed over their star spangled opposition from across the pond at Deepdale seven days ago, this latest cameo proves that Wilson’s star is on the rise.
While loan moves for players his age are usually seen as commonplace, United have always been a team to give youth a chance – just ask the class of 92 – and given their current shortfall up top, wouldn’t it be refreshing for the player to receive even more accelerated playing chances as a wildcard option from the bench this term instead of next?
