5 reasons why Manchester United should sign Pedro Rodriguez

Manchester United seem happy with two 1-0 wins and are quite comfortably coasting along the top of the table. However, seeing the haste with which they are taking to the matches, and the tight victories, the need for quality is visible. Over 200 million has been spent and United have yet to muster a player that can go out there and make a difference week in week out. The last time they did that, Robin Van Persie three years back and the brilliance of Sir Alex still presiding over the dressing room.And despite buying Di Maria in a record-breaking transfer, the returns were there not to see as he faded away into obscurity quite early into his United career and has duly left. But, the calls for a top signing are still there and Memphis Depay hasn’t done much to attest to that, if Van Gaal thought he would be the one to do so. As we have all seen over the past few weeks, the rumours surrounding Pedro Rodriguez seem to grow stronger and he has evidently told the press that his position at Barcelona is unlikely to continue.He might arrive at the Theatre of Dreams in less than a week, if the reports are to be believed. At the moment, Pedro is a proven quantity in the footballing world, having some rich laurels to his name such as the World Cup, Champions League and the European Championship.On paper, Pedro is a perfect winger who can play on either side owing to his ambidexterity and brings into United a dimension of the game they have been missing since the heydays of Valencia four years back. But whether that translates into the pitch if he moves, only time will tell. As the wait continues, let’s take a look at 5 reasons why Pedro coming to Old Trafford would be a great move.

#1 Excellent dribbler

How many days has it been since Luis Nani actually wowed the crowds at Old Trafford twisting and turning over players? The gap has been too long and too evident to miss out. Football may be a passing game in the essence, but ultimately, it boils down to how well you can beat the man in front of you.

As such, United have nowhere near the quality of the Spanish National team or Barcelona to boast of a passing game that could do without dribblers and win a title. Memphis Depay has the quality but I doubt he can put it to much use in at attacking midfielder role and he is suspect of losing the ball way too often, evidenced in the Aston Villa game.

However, Pedro has the Spanish flair and two good feet that can flummox the best defenders in the game. In the modern day, full backs are becoming as attacking as they can and that in turn, has led to a decline in defensive abilities. Rafael, who found his way out of the club this summer was probably alienated due to his erratic performances at the back, despite proving very good at the front. And that quality isn’t exclusive to him as far as the Premier League is concerned.

Pedro is exactly the kind of player that can exploit these shortcomings of a full back and to know that he has done it his entire career at Barcelona against Spanish defenders suggests that there is no reason he wouldn’t replicate this in the Premier League.

#2 Well-versed with possession football

Having been schooled in the Pep Guardiola system ever since his early professional days, there has been as much emphasis on dribbling as there is on holding possession in Pedro’s game. The last two games, if anything, have confirmed the fact that United won’t get anywhere big unless they pull up their socks and stop losing the ball in the final third. Rooney, usually one of the more assured players with the ball at his feet has been losing possession at an alarming rate and similarly has Mata.

Van Gaal has been trying to implement a possession-based system for a long time now and having a new player get accustomed to that is a longer process than most would expect. That was perhaps one of the reasons Di Maria didn’t have an impact, since he was abysmally poor at short passing and his first touch.

However, Pedro comes in with no strings attached in this regard as he is greatly accustomed to the system and was a mainstay of one of the best practitioners of this in the history of football, the sextuple winning Barcelona in 2011. This is likely to result in an easier transition for Pedro to get into the team and much smoother as well.

#3 Experience in Europe

At 28 years of age, Pedro by no means is exhausted and looking at a relaxed stint in the MLS. He is still very much in the prime of his career and possesses all the qualities that made him a Barcelona regular in the first place. One could argue that Di Maria had the same conditions while arriving into United as the similarities are too much to pass, but the Argentine had many off-field problems coming into Manchester.

Pedro so far, has had a career without any major injuries or too many breaks away from football and those off-field problems are quite rare and not a regular event for every other player.

And not to forget, he is a multiple Champions League winner with an excellent record in Europe. Back in 2011, it was he who scored the opening goal against Manchester United in the final with a deft finish past Van der Sar. After a year, United are back in the Champions League and the dynamic completely changes over there, with the necessity for quality players and little room for mistake.

The youngsters at United look very good and raring to go but have no experience against the top teams in Europe and none of the new additions except Schweinsteiger has played much in Europe. Considering that, having the little Spaniard would surely be a big bonus for the Red Devils.

#4 Potential back-up striker

If there are two things the current United line-up visibly lacks, it’s a goalscoring striker up front and a solid defender at the back. Without saying that Pedro would solve the problems of a striker, we can definitely say that he’s an added threat up front with Rooney becoming much less potent these days. He has had a very good record in his Barcelona career averaging about one goal every three games and has performed well whenever played in front of goal.

His movements are difficult to track for defenders and have a distinct advantage over Rooney, pace. Chicharito and James Wilson are good back-ups but neither of them are in the mould of Robin Van Persie and can make a recognizable difference in the scoring charts.

And that essentially means it cannot be a one-man show up-front, with Rooney dropping much deeper and therefore, a winger with a regular knack for scoring goals will be most useful. Not to mention, the present United wingers are all who cut on the inside and depend on the full back to overlap for the cross, leaving them exposed on the counter. But, The Spaniard is adept at cutting in as well as going the traditional way and putting crosses to take the full back out of the equation. And considering his ambidexterity, he can do this on both wings, especially on the right, where Matteo Darmian hasn’t been the best of crossers, despite a strong presence in defence.

The problem with Mata or Young cutting in and crossing has been that there is no one to convert them are United have been substantially weakened in the air with the non-availability of Fellaini and he doesn’t look like he’s going to make the team once he’s back either. United should look to reduce this as it guarantees little returns and a better chance for the opponent to get back the ball without much effort.

#5 Adds pace to United

As the two games so far have shown, 1-0 wins aren’t going to be enough over the course of time if United have such a fragile game plan. This needs some serious change and the first of which comes from ball retention in the opponent’s half. And another of the things that could greatly assist United is the possibility of another dimension to their attack and not just the bland sequence of passing around in the defence.

One of the things to consider is the counter attack, which United pulled off quite beautifully around seven years back, during the heydays of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford. But then, the glory days of then have yet to be recreated at United and the case is just the same with the counter attacks. As Barcelona have shown over the last season, adding a proper counter attack can have devastating effects on the opposition and would make them think twice before pushing all of their men up ahead.

Pedro has just that pace required to initiate and carry out a counter attack, which will be something that teams wouldn’t come to expect from United. With Depay, Adnan and potentially the Catalonian, United will have an excellent trio on the break and a pouncing Wayne Rooney to finish it off, who is quite good at covering ground on the counter. Not to mention, the Red Devils have a painfully slow build-up that gives the opposition the time to set their defence up.

As seen recently, if not for a masterful pass by Mata and some kind deflections, United would have drawn against Aston Villa. Top teams wouldn’t leave this so lightly and will clearly have a strong set-up like Chelsea did in their sleek 1-0 win over United last season.

Adding Pedro would also provide a player who is very good at making runs off the last defender and has the pace to beat the offside trap. With players such as Mata, Schweinsteiger and Carrick in the middle to feed, the component United need is a player who can make the runs behind the last man and time it to perfection. Pedro has that innate quality in him with a knack for scoring important goals, as he did in the recent UEFA Super Cup final.

In more than a few aspects, this transfer, if done should turn to be a great deal for United and a bargain for anything close to 20 million. There are those who say that he would become one of the best players upon arrival and others not so much in favour, criticizing his lack of experience in the physical Premier League. But, given that players such as David Silva and Cazorla have adapted, Pedro should follow suit too.