In a surprising development, German publication Bild have reported that Chinese club, Tianjin Quanjian, have ‘offered’ their star midfielder, Axel Witsel, to Manchester United.
The report further states that Witsel has been tangled in transfer negotiations between Borussia Dortmund and his present club. The German club believe the player has a £17m release clause and are refusing to meet the asking price quoted by the Chinese club.
Amidst this stand-off, Tianjin Quanjian are looking for other clubs who might be interested in the 29-year old experienced midfielder with the Premier League club’s name at the forefront.
AXEL WITSEL
More on the Player
The Belgian international started his career playing for Standard Liege. He scored 42 goals in 183 appearances for his hometown club. After that, he spent a season at Benfica before making a €40m move to Zenit St Petersburg in 2012. After 4 successful years with them, he made a surprise move to Tianjin Quanjian in January 2017.
Pros And Cons
The 29-year old is essentially a central midfielder. While he was tried in a number of roles in his initial days, with time, he has become a bonafide top-quality orchestrator in the middle of the pitch.
His tall frame makes him a favourite in every aerial duel he takes part in. Witsel is an assured passer and keeps a calm head when in possession. The accuracy of his through-balls have got better with every passing season and we saw his importance in a top-quality team like Belgium in the World Cup.
Witsel barely shows any weakness in his game. And his detractors have reduced in numbers as the years have gone by. He does not offer anything spectacular but can be trusted to do a job for the team and keep the midfield ticking and devoid of any mishaps.
Witsel at Manchester United: Does he have a spot?
The sullen Jose Mourinho has added to his midfield in the form of Fred. He already has Herrera, Fellaini, Pogba, Matic and McTominay to choose from. While a midfield consisting of Pogba, Fred and Matic might sound good enough for most team in Europe, Jose knows he needs more to fight for the title in the Premier League.
Herrera dropped out of favour last season and Fellaini doesn’t look like someone who can be trusted with starts anymore. With the UCL, Premier League and the 2 domestic cup competitions to navigate, someone like Witsel can give a huge boost to the midfield. His quality will allow him to fight for a place in the starting XI with Matic and Fred.
And the price being quoted is surely not an issue for Manchester United.
Stats Courtesy: Wikipedia & Whoscored