With the Manchester United’s defense still looking vulnerable, it is only logical to assume that the manager, Louis Van Gaal will be looking to re-enforce the defence in the January transfer window. Reports coming from England are beginning to show that the Dutch tactician seems to have set his sights on Barcelona’s Gerard Pique. Although, Pique has continually committed his future to the Catalan club, there are speculations that Manchester United might just decide to lure the 27-year-old back to Old Trafford.
Gerard Pique signed for Manchester United in 2004 at a time when he was not yet old enough to sign a professional contract due to Spanish regulations. His move from Barcelona’s youth team to Old Trafford came at a time when the club had quite a good set of defensive personnel. There was Ferdinand, Silvestre, Wes Brown, O’shea and Vidic to mention a few. Thus the Spaniard was definitely going to have a hard time breaking into the first team. With just 12 premier league appearances in two seasons, he was sent on loan to Real Zaragoza in 2006. his return back to the Red Devils’ squad at the end of the loan deal did little to advance his career with the Spaniard struggling to break into the first team. He was finally sold back to Barcelona in 2008 for GBP5 million.
His time with the Catalan club has seen him helping the club to four la Liga titles and two UEFA Champions League trophies. But with the arrival of Luis Enrique, Pique has found himself dropping way down below the pecking order as the Barcelona boss seems to fancy playing Jeremy Mathieu and Javier Mascherano ahead of the Spaniard. This sudden turn of events have left Pique with just five La Liga appearances so far this season. It definitely would not be a thing of joy for the Spanish international who for the past four seasons had been a regular starter for the Catalan club.
A move for Manchester United is definitely going to guarantee the Spanish International a place in the first team as Louis Van Gaal is hell-bent on rebuilding a Manchester United team that often looked like a team past his best. The major stumbling block to a deal for Pique will likely is the preference of his girlfriend, Shakira. The Colombian singer is believed not to fancy loving in Manchester. Therefore, it will take Manchester United coming up with a bumper deal that would be mouthwatering enough to convince the Spaniard and his heartthrob. Pique admitted recently in an interview that he loves the city of Barcelona as well as the people but that he doesn’t really know what may happen in future.
Louis Van Gaal as it is cannot afford to put all his hopes on the trio of Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans. The three have all through this season displayed at a level that does not seem to be up to the standard the Dutch manager wants his players to be playing. And in an effort to strengthen his squad, the manager knows that he will need to sign tested players with Pique fitting the bill. Manchester United is still in contention to sign Borussia Dortmund’s Matt Hummels but a capture of Pique would all but put paid to any possibility of Van Gaal signing the German international.