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Speaking at the launch of Soccer Saturday Super 6’s sponsorship of Salford City FC, Gary Neville said – "I said last season that the title would come to Manchester - and I was wrong - but I think this year it will” before going on to add "I say it every year, whoever recruits best, wins the league”.
That last bit is the key here, whoever recruits best wins... last year Chelsea were bolstered by the recruitment of N’Golo Kante and Antonio Conte (signing the manager up was a true masterstroke from the Blues was it not?) while this year their signings of Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoué Bakayoko have bolstered their ranks – in the absence of Diego Costa, they do, though, need a world-class striker if they are to have any chance of retaining the title.
This could be one of the of the reasons Neville favours his home city to pull through with the victory, and one-half of it has already done brilliantly in the transfer market. In fact, Manchester City seem to have done the best bit of early business in England, getting the likes of Ederson and Kyle Walker for world record fees (seem to have done the best bit of early business in England, getting the likes of Ederson and Kyle Walker for world record fees (for their respective positions) and signing up the truly exciting Bernando Silva early on.
Jose Mourinho, meanwhile, said Manchester United’s summer purchase status was at half-done. They’ve already signed the promising Victor Lindelof from Benfica and the belligerent Romelu Lukaku from Everton (from right under Chelsea’s noses to boot) but two more signings and the deal could be sealed – so we look at six players who would fit the bill perfectly at United.
Sign any two of these players, and the title could be headed to Old Trafford for the first time since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson
Note – Rankings have been given by averaging out the signing’s potential impact on arrival plus the likelihood of the deal actually happening
#6. Eric Dier
Current Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Having grown up (football-wise) in Portugal and having learned his trade with Sporting CP’s youth establishment, Eric Dier has transformed into one of the most important cogs of Tottenham’s superb midfield – his positional awareness, discipline and underrated passing ability creating the solid base for those further forward to unleash their considerable attacking talents.
Possessing a unique style of his own – something he himself calls a cross between Portuguese and English sides – it’s understandable that Jose Mourinho looks favourably at the midfielder as he’s the kind of player – versatile, good on the ball – that the Portuguese manager loves having in his squad.
Dier’s presence would free up Ander Herrera, and more importantly, Paul Pogba – the world’s most expensive player could then begin to show the rest of the world just what all the fuss is about (in case they don’t get it yet)
Tottenham, though, are under no pressure to sell – and as he displayed with the Walker-to-City transfer, Daniel Levy will charge the maximum possible to let one of his charges go.
Potential impact of transfer: 6/10
Likelihood of transfer: 5/10
#5. Fabinho
Current Club: AS Monaco
The Brazilian is equally adept at playing right-back or centre-midfield and is superb on set pieces. He possesses the kind of versatility that Jose Mourinho praises highly and importantly he’d add steel to the center of the midfield while not compromising on ball-playing ability (like what happens when a certain afro-haired Belgian is asked to fill in at Defensive midfield) – and fulfilling the same task Dier would have done, free up Herrera and Pogba.
The Brazilian rose through the Paulinia and Fluminense youth systems in his native Brazil before moving to Real Madrid (where he spent the duration on loan to their B side Castilla – he had his only appearance for the senior side when he played 14 minutes vs Malaga). Monaco signed him on a loan in 2013 before the deal was made permanent in 2015 where he has shone: In fact, he scored a quite amazing 11 goals in 50 games for Monaco during their sensational last season.
Having once said “My objective is to get to a club with the dimension of Manchester United. I have no clue if one day I'll be a United player, but I'll keep working so it stops being a rumour and becomes reality” it’s clear he’s interested in the move, but with Bakayoko already having been sold it’s unlikely Monaco will want to sell his central midfield partner in the same window.
Potential impact of transfer: 6/10
Likelihood of transfer: 5/10
#4. Neymar
Current Club: FC Barcelona
Yes, yes, this borders on the realms of fantasy (as can be seen in the likelihood-of-transfer rating) but Neymar’s arrival at Old Trafford could truly revolutionalise the way United play at the moment. Forget the inconsistent Neymar you see for Barcelona – where he has to play second fiddle to one-part of the two-man act that rules football – and picture the one you see for Brazil... given the freedom of the park, having the team built around him and generally allowed to be himself, Neymar would rip apart the Premier League in a way that -few have done before. With Neymar, United could build either a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1; or even a 3-4-3 with Neymar in his usual habitat of the left attacking third, Romelu Lukaku the sharp end of the spear whilst Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard would vie for the remaining attacking spots.
For the first time since 2009, United and the Premier League could once again lay claim to being home to one of the world’s best footballers.
But with Neymar’s love for Barcelona (he chose the club from an army of suitors whilst at Santos), his camaraderie with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and that zillion-dollar (205 million USD to be a touch more precise) release clause... It’s really not going to happen, is it?
Potential impact of transfer: 10/10
Likelihood of transfer: 2/10
#3. Ivan Perisic
Current Club: Internazionale Milano
With nothing certain in this world – just ask the Chelsea executive who was handling the Romelu Lukaku transfer negotiations – Ivan Perisic’s almost done-deal may-or-may-not come through this season as Inter and United are still to agree on a fair amount for the combative Croatian. A winger who can double up as either a forward or a wing-back, Perisic’s sheer quality and versatility as well as his positional discipline may well make him perfect for Mourinho.
Here’s a stat that Sky was reporting comparing Perisic and United’s wide men last season (i.e. the league records 2016/17) – it truly stunned quite a few people:
| Name | Perisic | Lingard | Martial | Mkhitaryan |
| Games | 36 | 25 | 25 | 24 |
| Starts | 31 | 18 | 18 | 15 |
| Goals | 11 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| Assists | 8 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Crosses | 239 | 25 | 56 | 48 |
While he did have more goals and assists than his United peers, it’s the last row that really stands out: TWO HUNDRED AND THIRTY-NINE CROSSES!... MY!
With United’s aerial ability supplemented by the addition of Romelu Lukaku, who although not an Andy Caroll or Christian Benteke kind of player, may genuinely thrive off good delivery and the presence of Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba (both great in the air), Perisic may be able to provide United with an all-new attacking facet – especially against teams that sit deep and invite them on.
Potential impact of transfer:7/10
Likelihood of transfer: 7/10
#2. Nemanja Matic
Current Club: Chelsea
Nemanja Matic has been linked with United ever since Mourinho took charge last year, and with the arrival of Bakayoko at the Bridge those reports have only been strengthened. The Romelu Lukaku hijacking may have soured relationships between the two clubs, but business is business – Chelsea have had their fair share of victories in the transfer market (Pedro and John Obi Mikel, anyone?) – and there is still a strong likelihood that this deal may yet go through.
For those questioning why Matic is so high up the list – this man is the perfect Mourinho central midfielder. Strong, tall, powerful in the air and decent on the ball (the Serb has an underrated passing ability), there’s a reason Mourinho asked the Chelsea board to eat humble-pie and go back to Benfica to sign him (the Portuguese giants meanwhile made a neat 24 million Euro profit off the deal)
With him patrolling midfield, it would free up Herrera and Pogba even more than Dier and Fabinho would (The Serb may be the lesser ball-player but he’s stronger in the air and more powerful on the ground).
A midfield three of Pobga-Matic-Herrera sounds like a winning combination, doesn’t it?
Potential impact of transfer: 8/10
Likelihood of transfer: 6/10
#1. Gareth Bale
Current Club: Real Madrid CF
Yes, yes, I can almost hear you mutter – wasn’t one fantasy signing enough for the list? Well, to be honest, not quite – since a) the very point of the list is to delve into the realms of fantasy, and b) this one is far more likely to go through than Neymar. While he’ll still cost a pretty penny, Gareth Bale would likely be available for half the prize of the Brazilian and having made his name in the rough and tumble of the Premier League, would hit the ground running.
Strong, powerful in the air, fast, and possessed of an absolute thunderb****** of a shot, the Welshman would be the perfect replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo and at 28-years old, he’s at the very top of his game. Just as with Neymar, he has to play second fiddle – this to the other part of the two-man football king act – and at United he could properly unleash the full extent of his footballing abilities. He could line up on the right side of a 4-3-3, 4-2-3-1 or a 3-4-3, but as he showed with Tottenham Hotspur he also has the ability to play behind the striker... so if United go with a 3-5-2 like they did for the second half of their exhibition match against the LA Galaxy, he could even line up alongside Romelu Lukaku!
Thing is though, with United’s increasingly soured relationship with Real Madrid at an all-time low after the David de Gea and Alvaro Morata transfer fiascos, Florentino Perez may not be willing to listen... if the transfer did happen, it’s hard to look beyond United for the title.
Potential impact of transfer: 10/10
Likelihood of transfer: 4/10
