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The world of modern football is mysterious, murky, concerning and confusing enough to make you want to dig out your old sticker books and pore over the stars of yesteryear in a blubbery haze… just me then.
There is often no rhyme or reason to the transfer market and contract negotiations, though one must truly wonder how Nani and his team of negotiators managed to secure a new five-year deal at Manchester United last September.
We can only assume that he either dazzled David Moyes in training, or the new boss was afraid of seeing him leave at the end of the 2013-14 campaign on a free transfer.
Whatever the case, the Portuguese winger has shown precious little since to suggest he deserves to stay at Old Trafford beyond this summer, let alone until 2018.
Moyes said at the time: ” [Nani] has great ability and experience beyond his 26 years. I’ve been impressed with his approach to training and look forward to working with him in the coming seasons,” and yet the attacker has made just eight Premier League starts all season due to various injuries (including another hamstring strain in February) and a general loss of form.
There is talent there – the winger was voted as United’s Players’ Player of the Year after a stunning 2010/11 season in which he scored 10 goals and created 18 more to lead the club to the title. That player has, unfortunately, all but disappeared.
Simply put, it is a quite spectacular waste of potential from one of the most technically gifted players of his generation, as United fans know all too well the type of player he can be when everything clicks into place.
Juventus have shown their interest on numerous occasions for reasons unknown, so here are three reasons why United should bite the bullet and move on the misfiring malady known as Nani.
1. You never know what you’re going to get
Nani’s strength has always laid in his unpredictability – while he may overhit a cross or blast a shot into the stands on occasion, Sir Alex Ferguson persisted with the winger on the basis that he would eventually whip in a teasing cross for a tap-in, or score what was become a trademark blast from long range followed by a suitably acrobatic celebration.
However, while Nani has acquired the much-sought-after predictability that Ferguson craved, it is for all the wrong reasons. He has scored no league goals this season, and has a shooting accuracy of just 27 percent. The winger did hint at his talents with a fine goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, though that was the fifth in a five-goal drubbing.
The statistics show that Nani is in a serious funk, and has not been able to handle the pressure of playing for United for a while now. With just 11 appearances last season in the league and one goal to call his own – with a shooting accuracy of 31% – it is a struggle to see how Moyes thought the player’s performances were worth such an extension to his Old Trafford stay.
Some attacking wingers can use their goal output as a defence for when the rest of their game is not up to scratch, but as we shall find out with Nani, he simply has no goals to offer up as a distraction to the other weaknesses in his game.
2. He doesn’t create nearly as much as he should
Say what you what, but the primary objective for a winger is to create goals. If their wide men can pitch in defensively and, better still, score a few, most managers would be more than happy. But Nani’s creative well hasn’t run dry just in terms of goals – he is also failing to create anything of note for his teammates.
The Portuguese has made 11 chances in eight league games, and his passing accuracy of 77% leaves a lot to be desired in a team that, at least at the start of the season – had aspirations for domestic and European success.
Nani has failed to eradicate the wayward crossing from his game, and a breeze of the statistics is not easy reading for United fans. Against Liverpool – one of three crosses completed; Sunderland – none of six; Stoke – one of five (a game in which he was booed by the Old Trafford crowd); Everton – one of three; Newcastle – two of six.
One area in which Nani has excelled this season is take-ons, completing 22 of 32 in the league for a 69% completion rate. Yet his ability to beat his man with ease only frustrates further when given the fact that he is unreliable in delivering an end product.
These are simply not the figures one would expect of a multi-million pound winger and elite international, who should be reaching his peak years at 27. Instead, he is behind nine other United players in terms of chances created, and if those statistics persist, this season has brutally shown Moyes that he can no longer afford to carry passengers like Nani in his squad.
3. He doesn’t put in the hard graft when he has to
Nani’s attacking travails would be less pronounced if he were more akin to Antonio Valencia, who is going through the same problems as the Portuguese winger in terms of output. While the Ecuadorian has had a poor season in offensive terms, he has endeared himself to Moyes through his defensive work rate, often filling in at right-back when Rafael has been substituted off, or a tactical switch is in order.
Nani, however, has only completed an average of one defensive action per league game, which is in direct contrast to his Champions League performance against Bayer Leverkusen in which he made seven defensive actions, including six interceptions.
That is the Nani that Manchester United fans want – the hard-working, creative threat that is a nuisance up and down the line and can offer opposition defences a torrid time from either flank or through the centre.
Unfortunately, injuries, a loss of confidence and abject form mean that Nani’s future prospects at United look bleak. Even with United is such a dire state of affairs, the Portuguese has struggled to get any game time this season.
One would hope that Nani can regain the form that so endeared him to his team-mates three years ago, for the talent certainly exists – anybody who watched his beautiful control and delicate lob at Leverkusen would not question the talent he possesses.
However, it seems as though Nani and Manchester United must part ways if the maddening, mercurial misfit is to find his spark again.
