Owen Hargreaves to Manchester City: Ramifications of the shock summer transfer

Be it Michael Jackson’s death or the United States hunting down Osama Bin Laden, some news just spreads like a wildfire on the internet. A similar news broke out on the internet when Owen Hargreaves was spotted outside Manchester City’s training ground, and it was like those classic wildfires that windups the internet, and this time the fire was in the world of English football.

Just before the transfer deadline, Manchester City announced the signing of Owen Hargreaves. In a shock move where only West Bromwich Albion was considered as the possible destination for him, Hargreaves convinced the big spending Citizens that he has a future and can contribute to City’s quest for success.

What the move means for Owen Hargreaves

First of all kudos, to Owen for his convincing skills in making Manchester City believe that he still has got in him to play at the highest level. Mind you Manchester City is now a highly ambitious club. Hargreaves has only played 11 minutes of football in the last 2 seasons. Manchester United were incredibly patient with the Canadian born midfielder, who was bought for £17 million in 2007 and made 39 appearances in four years with only a start last season where he walked out after playing 11 minutes, due to a pulled hamstring. Before the injury he was one of the finest English players, one of the most versatile ones, and had earned places in 2002 & 2006 World Cup squads, and was England’s best player in the 2006 world event.

The first and foremost thing he has to do now is to prove himself match fit and get into regular playing shape. In an interview to City’s website he said “It’s important that you get back into a rhythm of playing football and I haven’t done that for a while”. Though City will not rush him for his debut, he may take 5-6 weeks to get back into that fitness level. Also he will have the burden of his own past, because he was truly a world class player who could play as midfielder, a defensive midfielder, a right back; given that he is a manager’s delight.

People wrote him off and he has to prove them wrong. Sir Alex Ferguson let him go after United paid for his entire medical treatment and wages for 4 seasons. In this context, Hargreaves joining United’s bitter rivals is a shock move. But he has a golden opportunity to play football at the highest level, the thing he has been doing since his playing days for Bayern Munich. He might get to play in the Champions League though he has been omitted in the initial 25 player squad list, submitted by Roberto Mancini. Former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney said: “He’s been out for a couple of years now and, to be fair to him, he’s worked really hard. He got back last season, played one game, and then did his hamstring. It will be difficult for him to get back to his best but I hope he can. From an England point of view, he’s the type of midfield player we haven’t really had before. If he can get back, great, but it is going to be difficult for him.”

The number could turn from 42 to 43 i.e. his England caps. Such is the pedigree of this player and his past reputation that within hours of him signing for Manchester City, England manager Fabio Capello said that he would welcome the versatile English player.

What the signing means for Manchester City

For City, Hargreaves was never on their shopping list and frankly speaking, they were already done with their summer shopping. For them, this was more like a free gift from the super market. If Hargreaves does something good, then well and good and even if he’s a failure, there is no problem. But Roberto Mancini believes that he can still extract the best from Owen.

Supporting his manager’s decision Joleon Lescott, City’s centre-back and England defender said: “I’m not surprised that we’re signing Owen because he’s a great player. We’ve got such a lot of talent in the squad and to add to it is healthy. He can definitely come back for England. I don’t think anyone is ruling him out of any competition. If we can get him fit I’m sure it won’t be long before he is back to his best. The manager has seen something. We all know he’s got the quality to play Champions League football. That can only bode well for the club.” And it might be. Manchester City will be facing Bayern Munich in this year’s Champions league and to this Hargreaves said “Bayern is a wonderful club – I had a great time there and won the Champions League. They are going to be tough opposition and it will be an exciting game for the club.”

Manchester City can say that they have got a highly pedigreed player who has played in the Champions league. As far as what he can do on the pitch goes, he can a useful and effective player in the middle of the park, and as a right back. And most importantly he will give his best, will fight for his places, given that he is a person who has always measured himself against the best and enjoys taking on challenges.

Owen Hargreaves has amused a lot of football fans with his YouTube fitness clips, but if he is fully fit and can reach the level of performance he was at four years ago, then City have arguably made one of the best signings of the summer. His European experience will be crucial as Roberto Mancini’s men embark on their Champions League adventure. His flexibility and fighting spirit will make him a player easy to work with for Roberto Mancini, also giving the manager plenty of options to work with. For a player who left Canada for Germany and then Germany for England, Hargreaves has always left comfortable positions to go and take on new but challenging ventures. And he hopes the same from this move also as he said “It’s a fantastic group of players here, and I hope that I’ll be a good addition to these guys to help out.I’ve lived in Manchester for four years and this move just fits. You’ve got to trust your instincts.“