TRANSFER STORY
In surprising reports emerging out of Sweden, Manchester United have been linked with a move for experienced Swedish centre-back, Andreas Granqvist.
The 33-year-old was a constant feature for his national team in the World Cup where he captained the team and was part of a centre-back partnership with present Manchester United player, Victor Lindelof.
The veteran defender was a part of Krasnodar for five years but has returned to his homeland joining Helsingborg. This will be his third stint with the club which gave him his professional debut.
Jose reportedly wants him on a short-term loan move in January which will last till March when the Swedish league starts again after their winter break.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES
Over the years Granqvist has improved on his skill set and has gotten better in several key areas. He is technically sound with his passing and is comfortable on the ball. He is good in the air too, which bodes well for a potential stint at United. His concentration is top-notch, and though few people will remember, he has prior experience of playing in England. The Swede had spent two seasons playing for Wigan before moving to Dutch side Groningen.
He is a reliable operator but has not lit up the world with his tackling prowess over the years. That is a relatively weak spot in his armoury, and at his age now, Andreas is averse to lunging into tackles and tries to play to his strengths.
AUTHOR’S TAKE
Manchester United is on almost everybody’s lips now, and not in a way that Ed Woodward or retired Sir Alex Ferguson would have hoped when he hung up his boots. But we will shelve the details for another day and will focus now on their defensive instability which shows no signs of improving anytime soon.
Jose Mourinho, throughout his illustrious managerial career, has been known to put defence ahead of attack (to state it simply).
His teams have always been structured and compact with hardworking midfield players and fullbacks with ideally a tall and robust forward leading a line.
His defences, over the years, haven’t been much different and his defensive blueprint has often been imitated and followed diligently by top managers since Mourinho’s tremendous success from his Porto days.
But this season along with a lot of other things, this particular aspect has gone to shambles. Jose has been vocal, and his harsh criticism of his defenders has been well advertised along with the fact that he hasn’t had the support of Ed over the summer, especially in his supposed pursuit of a marquee centre-back.
Well, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are Jose’s signings, and it doesn’t take rocket science to figure out why United were not keen on spending a fortune on a similar position in which they have recently invested over £60m.
But coming back to Granqvist, the Swede will arrive on loan, if Jose indeed decides to pursue him which won’t take a lot of convincing on the Portuguese manager’s part.
The player is expectedly delighted with the rumours and will undoubtedly want to experience it all over again before the final phase of his career.
“I know there’s a lot of interest in me.
“United is very flattering, but I have not heard anything concrete.”
BENEFICIAL- YES OR NO?
So, based on the reports and conjecture, this is something which is unlikely to face any roadblocks if there is actual interest from the Manchester club.
But United fans will not be blamed if they don’t celebrate with any gusto regarding this bit of news. Andreas is not the answer to their problems, but he can work on improving, in his little way without disturbing the first team structure in the league, a certain Victor Lindelof whom he is extremely familiar with.
Lindelof is an excellent prospect but is unfortunately caught in a red storm. A semblance of familiarity and working in tandem with someone who knows his game inside out will undoubtedly go a long way in making sure Victor is in a position from where he can attempt to perform at a level United expected him to while shelling out all that money.
So, the Swede pairing might be employed by Jose in the FA Cup, and in case the 33-year-old can settle down, Mourinho might well decide to try them out in the league if the present defensive malaise continues to haunt the team next year.
Stats Courtesy: Whoscored
