The fallout and reactions from the ‘statement’ as it shall now be known have been rumbling on the last couple days. Various sources had been claiming that RVP (pronounced greedy fucker in Irish) was preparing to fly back from his holiday and do a “Rooney” and sign a new long-term deal with the club. In all fairness to the Scouse Shrek he never came out and questioned the direction and management of United at the highest level. It was much easier for him to back pedal and sign his new deal. Van Persie will and should not be accepted back into the fold either by the management or the fans. He can blame his agent or whoever he wants but we can all be sure that he had final say on what was released in the statement along with the timing of it. The fact he has been away on holiday since it was released and is therefore not available for comment is highly convenient.
As the club prepares for the inevitable departure of the Dutchman, reputable sources have claimed that we have been in touch with Fiorentina regarding their 22-year-old Montenegro Striker Stevan Jovetic. They are rumoured to want a fee in the region of £20 million pound so this deal could hinge on how quick we manage to offload Robin. This may also be where the rumours of the Chamakh transfer came from. Generally viewed as a second striker as compared by many in the Italian press to Roberto Baggio, the Fiorentina forward may be signed to provide the through balls for Giroud to latch on to. Whether this move could be seen as reverting back to the 442 of the invincible age remains to be seen as it is widely felt that the current formation is largely played to suit or now departing Captain.
One of the supposed reasons for RVP deciding not to renew his deal(we all know the real reason) is the club lacked ambition, this is widely linked to the lack of quality transfer market incomings that we have seen in the past few seasons. The swift acquisitions of Giroud and Pods coupled with the enquiry for Jovetic seem to represent a move on the part of the Boss and Ivan the Greek to move swiftly and decisively in the market this summer. With the public knowledge of our want for a defensive minded midfielder (not going to be M’Vila im afraid) coupled with whatever player is brought in to replace RVP we will see four new players arriving this summer with only one significant departure. If we manage to clear out a large portion of the deadwood currently floating around the club then regardless of the RVP outcome I feel this will have been a succesful summer and will have me feeling quietly optimistic about improving on our performances from last year. I know as fans this is what we want to see and hopefully we will.
Stories have also been doing the rounds regarding breaking our kit deal with Nike and signing with Adidas from next season. While it is widely acknowledged that our sponsorship deals have hamstrung our spending power over the last couple of years, this is one deal that I can’t really see happening. The club have very publicly stated that the current home kit will be in place for the next two seasons, ally this to the fact that Nike have been our kit sponsors prior to the current deal we have and I see a renewal for vastly greater sums on the cards. All of which adds to more spending power which will keep us fans happy.
Thats all for today, till next time
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