United Transfer watch: Guillermo Varela

Manchester United’s first signing of this transfer season has been an unknown 20-year-old Uruguayan full back with just one senior appearance to his credit, Guillermo Varela. With news of Ronaldo’s impending return and Rooney’s future dilemma creating the entire stir, Varela has taken the back door entry to one of the biggest clubs in the world. The South American only managed to make his Uruguayan Primera division debut for his former club Penarol in the final game of last season and yet, United have disagreed to send him back on loan for a season. And this can only point to Varela’s regular involvement in the first team the coming season and pretty much gives us a clear picture of how high he is rated within the club.

Varela spent a fortnight at Manchester on trial in the month of May wherein he impressed former Red Devils’ boss Sir Alex Ferguson to such a degree that the Scotsman immediately sanctioned the transfer of the full back. Despite Varela not being a regular in Uruguay’s Primera division, he has been regularly featuring for his country at the U-20 level. It was his standout performances for the La Celeste to guide them through to the finals of the U 20 World Championships in Turkey, to be held later this summer, that caught the eye of the United scouts.

Here are answers to some of the basic questions that always come with a signing.

What kind of player is Varela?

The player was quoted as saying that ‘speed’ is his best asset in an exclusive interview during his unveiling at the club. He is an aggressive full back who likes to join in attack as much as he enjoys defending. For a 20-year-old, his reading of the game is much more matured and can only get better while working with the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra.

What will be his role at the club this coming season?

This, however, remains to be seen as David Moyes clearly works differently from Sir Alex Ferguson. Rafael Da Silva had come of age last season as he showed more maturity as a defender and is much more likely to keep his place in the starting line up. But the fact that he hasn’t been sent back on loan to Penarol cannot be attributed to his readiness for the first team as many seem to suggest. Varela’s chances at the club have been limited and the club hierarchy must feel that the best way to develop him would be to keep him at Carrington.

If he is as promising as reports say, why hasn’t there been any reported interest from other major clubs?

There are two ways to look at this question. Firstly, we can never rule out the possibility of another club having been interested in Varela. That United were able to seal the deal for a reported €2.8 m could only mean the others’ were not willing to cough up that amount for a relatively untested player like him. Secondly, a complete scouting misjudgment which is unlikely given the fact the player impressed almost everyone, including Fergie, at Carrington during his trial. Although United’s scouting system may not be the best there is, they have been successful recently in unearthing some quality players from the South American continent.

Should the fans be excited about this?

Yes. Sir Alex’s last piece of ‘desperate’ business before he completely handed over the reins to his fellow countryman David Moyes only indicates that he was certain. The whole Wayne Rooney fiasco, which has later emerged as more of a ‘misunderstanding’, was left for Moyes to be taken care of by Sir Alex. But the urgency he showed in getting Varela to sign a contract with United and not leaving it for his successor can only be down to how impressed he was with Varela. And that certainly bodes well for every United fan.

The U -20 World Champions, starting from the 21^st of June in Turkey, is another perfect opportunity for fans worldwide to get a good view of their club’s latest acquisition.