In Sir Alex Ferguson’s era at Manchester United, the team were renowned for having some outstanding wingers. These wingers used to be the fulcrum of the side, every attacking movement used to be orchestrated and carried out by the wide players. They were ultra successful thanks to his tactical genius and it showed, as Manchester United won quite a lot during Ferguson’s last few years of management.
Following the Scotsman’s departure, though, things have been very different. It started out with David Moyes, then Louis Van Gaal and culminates with the current Jose Mourinho. The team lost its identity during Moyes’ and van Gaal’s reigns and Mourinho is currently the one to get the team back to its previous successful ways.
The team currently has Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial and Henrikh Mkhitaryan as wide options, but Mourinho would obviously like to bring in another winger in the summer. An out-and-out winger would be the preferable choice as it would add something different to United’s attacking impetus.
Here are 3 exceptional wingers that Mourinho should target in the summer –
Yannick Ferreira Carrasco
The Belgian winger has been in excellent form for Atletico Madrid and this has lead to him being linked with a move to the Premier League. Chelsea, in particular, have shown a strong interest, but Manchester United should look to hijack any deal Chelsea might try to do as they are more in need of a winger that can provide service for the likes of Ibrahimovic and co.
Carrasco certainly has the pedigree to flourish at United, as he has shown his capabilities at both Monaco and Atletico quite efficiently. He is always on the front foot and looks to set up his teammates from the wide areas, along with also getting on the scoresheet himself, from time to time. These qualities would certainly add to United’s attacking impetus.
Eduardo Silva
The Argentine has been a hit at Benfica. He moved to the Portuguese club after a less than successful period in Europe with Atletico Madrid. But at Benfica, he has regained some of the form that saw him move to Atletico in the first place. Silva is a diminutive winger that has excellent dribbling qualities. He can breeze past opponents like they aren’t there.
He is also renowned for his link-up play with his fellow forwards and midfielders. Silva also has the ability to get into good attacking positions on the pitch and this is something that United could benefit from, hugely. He will perhaps add a different dimension to United’s game and give Ibrahimovic the service he needs to continue scoring goals at the rate he’s going at.
Wilfried Zaha
Although this one wouldn’t be as likely to happen as the other two transfers, it is something everyone at United should consider. Zaha has some history at Old Trafford, as he was Sir Alex Ferguson’s last signing at the club, but didn’t play a single game under him.
He struggled under David Moyes and was ultimately sent back to Crystal Palace, where he has been in excellent form for The Eagles. He also recently represented The Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations. Zaha would be an excellent out-and-out winger option for Mourinho, as he looks to be a complete player now and staying at Palace could stall his progress and he should look to leave.
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