Having lost out to Bayern Munich in the race for Thiago Alcantara and having had three offers for Cesc Fabregas rebuffed, Ed Woodward and David Moyes could be knocking on Barcelona’s door yet again this winter.
The Daily Express reports that United have expressed an interest in Barca’s Alex Song, the former Arsenal midfielder who moved to the Catalan giants for £16m a year ago but has been struggling to secure a spot in the starting XI ever since.
A crucial figure in Arsenal’s midfield, thanks to his dynamism and box-to-box style, Song’s career at the Nou Camp has hardly got off to a flying start, with the Cameroon international facing the almost impossible to task to dislodge the Xavi – Andres Iniesta – Sergio Busquets triumvirate from Barca’s engine room.
With Carlos Puyol and Gerard Pique out injured, Pep Guardiola, Tito Villanova and even current Barca boss Gerardo Martino had hoped to convert Song to the sort of ball playing centre-back Javier Mascherano has become since dropping into the back four. The experiment, however, has failed spectacularly and Song has seen very little action.
Strengthening the midfield must be David Moyes’ priority in January, just as it was over the summer – and the summer before that, and the one before that and, well, you get the drift – and United believe they’ve better chances of landing the Cameroon international rather than some of the targets they so insistently pursued over the summer.
Having spent £16m on the player only a year ago, Barca are thought to be wanting more time to decide whether to part ways with the Cameroon international or not which, in theory at least, could complicate a possible move in January. Song himself is reportedly keen to prove Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino wrong and secure a spot in the starting XI, however, should he fail to do so, a return to the Premier League could be extremely appealing to the former Arsenal man.
United’s midfield was torn apart by Manchester City on Sunday as the failure to properly address the squad’s weaknesses during the transfer window backfired on David Moyes. Marouane Fellaini might well develop into an excellent player for United but even with the Belgian proving good enough for the club, Moyes will remain short of options in midfield and Song’s energy and dynamism could be useful assets for the United manager.
Whether it’ll be a case of third time lucky or whether United will again end up empty handed remains to be seen.
