Winning whilst not playing well is a habit that you don’t necessarily strive for, but one that you’re more than willing to put up with should it arrive.

As Manchester United’s recovery from the aberration of last season continued apace with the highly fortunate 2-1 win over Southampton on Monday, a thought occurred in many onlookers which would have scared United’s rivals. “What happens when they actually start functioning?”

The vast sum of the parts in Louis van Gaal’s new-look machine is still greater than the machine itself, but by embarking on the biggest spending spree the Premier League has ever seen, United have been able to ensure that their fans forget all about a 2013/14 which never really got started for David Moyes.

They’re now third, five points behind a Manchester City side who have just lost Sergio Aguero for the busy Christmas period and eight back from Chelsea, who now have to react to their first loss of the league campaign. Dare we suggest a title challenge is possible?

That would be running before United have shown that they can walk properly, of course, but with a couple of clever January additions they could at least have an outside shot. One of those will have to be a defender, whilst the other could be Wesley Sneijder.

A name long linked with a switch to Old Trafford—most recently by Alex Harris in the Daily Star—now would surely be the most sensible time for the 30-year-old to make the move given the presence of both Van Gaal and Robin van Persie, as no one can really be sure how long either man will be at the club for.

By signing Sneijder, Van Gaal could add another element of his successful Dutch World Cup squad to his United revolution, whilst rotating a midfield which is at best a varying success story right now.

Michael Carrick might look good in a home victory over Hull City, but you have to question whether or not his ageing legs can cut it at the highest level any more. Marouane Fellaini is an enigma, Ander Herrera is still adjusting and Daley Blind is injured.

Between the four of them, Blind is the best equipped to play the deep-lying midfield role, but there is still hope that Fellaini can be educated on it. Basically, he just needs to be locked in a darkened room with DVDs of Nemanja Matic.

If those two compete for that position, then it opens up a bit of space ahead of them. Angel Di Maria has to play when fit, of course, but he could take his place at the head of a midfield diamond with Herrera and Sneijder sparkling either side of it. That then leaves Wayne Rooney and Van Persie in attack.

Juan Mata, Radamel Falcao, Darren Fletcher, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and Adnan Januzaj won’t like reading that, of course, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Falcao looks like damaged goods anyway, Valencia is a decent right-back these days and Januzaj could benefit from going on loan.

Key to all of this is Sneijder, clearly, but the Dutchman will surely be receptive to an approach from United as he perhaps seeks a new challenge and a move away from current club Galatasaray.

The Red Devils would be another stellar addition to a CV which includes Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, over 100 Dutch caps and the Champions League, and he’d add another dash of star quality to a squad desperate to compete with Chelsea and Manchester City on that front.

There are negatives, obviously. The money involved, the fact that Sneijder is on the wrong side of 30 and that he’s not the player who was arguably the best performer at the 2010 World Cup any more, but if United are ever going to sign him, you suspect that it might well come in the next few weeks.

A bit of control, short passing and top-level experience is exactly what their midfield needs at the moment, and Van Gaal must surely know that.

The defence remains the key problem, but sign Sneijder and the United boss might find that the ugly wins become less of the norm and the impressive victories start flowing.

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://ift.tt/1vIPtu9
via IFTTT