United preparing £200k-A-Week Deal To Convince World Cup Winner To Join

Amid strong transfer links to Arsenal and Chelsea, Manchester United is reportedly preparing a whooping £200,000-a-week offer for Real Madrid’s midfielder and World Cup winner, Sami Khedira according to Daily Star. The 27-year-old player’s contract elapses at the end of the season and all effort by his employers, the UEFA Champions’ League title holders, had proved abortive. The most reasonable option for Real Madrid now is to cash in on the midfielder, cut price notwithstanding, in January, but that option may not be taken by most of his suitors, knowing they could wait for 6 months and get him on a free.

Sami Khedira, who won the 2014 FIFA World Cup with Germany in Brazil, was said to be interested in a move to Arsenal this summer with Real Madrid and the London club, said to have reached an agreement on fees, worth, £27m. However, the player’s wage demand of £150, 000-a-week was said to have stalled the arrangement on personal terms premise. It was later reported that, the defensive midfielder has slashed his wage demand to £134,000 weekly in a last ditch move to revive the move but Arsenal did not seem ready for talks as the club was obviously busy with strengthening other departments of the squad. This dragged on until news emanated from Spain that the player has rejected a contract extension from Madrid and is poised to either leave or stay at Madrid to see out his contract, which expires at the end of this season. So, the desperation to sell Khedira is hinged upon the prospect of losing the player on a free at the end of the season. Therefore, Arsenal and later Chelsea were thought to stand very good chance of landing the player in January for a very meagre transfer fee or for free at the end of the season.

The situation now is that Manchester United is reportedly aiming to surpass the weekly wage that Chelsea and Arsenal are willing to offer the player. While Arsenal were favourites to sign the player with weekly wage in excess of £100,000-a-week in mind, Chelsea were thought to be willing to pay Khedira £150,000 weekly, the fee initially demanded by the player from Arsenal, a situation which stalled the deal in the summer. Now, with a £200, 000-a-week offer plans by Manchester United, Sami Khedira would without blinking be a Manchester United player next summer, without considering the player’s preference or choice of club.

For Arsenal, acquiring the services of Sami Khedira would mean something to their title challenge as the versatility of the player in the midfield is well documented. While Mikel Arteta would no doubt be in and out of the treatment room for the duration of the season, Khedira is more than capable of holding forth in his absence. The defensive and offensive attributes of the former Stuttgart man is well known and he could add some defensive steel to an Arsenal midfield that lacks some physicality and aerial dominance. At 27 years, Sami Khedira could give Arsenal some 3-4 good years filling in defensively in the midfield, though he could also be used as a box-to-box midfielder. While many Arsenal supporters crave a younger, Patrick Vieira/ Emmanuel Petit/ Gilberto Silva type defensive midfielder, Sami Khedira would come in to add experience that may be lacking in players in their early 20s, to that role and give Arsenal some stability in the middle. Therefore his place in the Arsenal squad would be secured, if he moves in that direction.

But at Chelsea however, the presence of Cesc Fabregas, Nemanja Matic, Ramires and John Obi Mikel is a strong pointer to the fact that he may not get regular playing time under Jose Mourinho and this situation would just be a setback for the player, coming from real Madrid in a similar situation. Madrid signed Khedira’s younger compatriot, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez into a team that already had Asier Illaramendi and a host of other Spanish players, all jostling for regular playing time. It would be safe to say that regular playing time at Chelsea would be less guaranteed for Sami Khedira, despite having the cash to spend on the player’s weekly wages.

Manchester United might be the best option for Khedira as they are ready to almost double whatever Arsenal and Chelsea are offering as weekly wage, the presence of players like Marouane Fellaini, newly signed Ander Herrera and Daley Blind, could just put paid to Sami Khedira’s switch to Old Trafford, if playing regularly matters to the German midfielder. The Red Devils under Dutch manager, Louis Van Gaal has shown desperation in the transfer market as they spent about £150m this summer securing the services of 6 players to get back into English Premier League and European prominence. On that premise, the Old Trafford outfit may just edge all other English clubs to the signing of Khedira, but if Khedira is passionate about his contribution to any squad on a regular basis, then Manchester United may not be the best option for him.