Appeasement: 5 Players Manchester United Must Sign To Keep Wayne Rooney Happy
One of the oddest transfer sagas in Premier League history was finally resolved last week when Wayne Rooney committed his future to the red half of Manchester.
However, securing Rooney's signature is only half the battle the club faces in keeping him. Asย Rooney himself made clear, he demands to play for a club that matches his lofty ambitions.
With the likes of Giggs and Scholes coming to the end of their glittering careers, Sir Alex Ferguson knows that he'll have to replace his stalwarts with new blood of equal quality to keep pace with Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham and big-spending rivals City at the top of the English and Europeanย game.
With money promised by the Glazers, Ferguson knows he has to deliver the type of talentย his talismanic strikerย requires to keep him at Old Trafford.
Here are theย five players I feel Sir Alex needs to bring to Manchesterย in order to hold on to his prized player.ย ย
Wesley Sneijder
1 of 5
One of the stars of the World Cup, and player of the tournament in last year's Champions League as heย led Inter Milan to glory, Sneijderย is one of the best midfielders in the world. He has the pedigree to make a huge impact in a red shirt.
With contract talks between player and clubย reportedly breaking down, the door appears to be open for Ferguson to swoop in and steal the 26-year-oldย Dutchman and bring him to England.
Earlier in the year, Ferguson missed out on Sneijder's former Ajax and Dutch internationalย teammate, Rafael Van Der Vaart. Ferguson needs to persuade Sneijder he can replicate Van Der Vaart's success in England with Tottenham to give himself aย good chance of holding on to Rooney.ย ย
Gareth Bale
2 of 5
United missed out on Van Der Vaart's Tottenham teammate a few years ago when he chose White Hart Lane over Old Trafford. Now Bale has developed into a world-class winger and would be the ideal replacement for fellow Welshman Ryan Giggs on the left.
Young and extremely talented, Bale showcased his talent with a brilliant hat trick in defeat at Sneijder's Inter a couple weeks ago.
However, Harry Redknapp is desperate to keep hold of hisย newย star, and Ferguson may find it tricky to pry himย away from north London with aย substantial fee requiredย to obtain his services.
Franck Ribery
3 of 5
The only thing scarier than the Frenchman's face is his freakish ability on the pitch. Gaining the Bayern Munich winger would go some way towards filling the huge void left by Cristiano Ronaldo, whoย leftย Manchester for Madrid in summer 2009.
The combination of Bale and Ribery on the wings, with Sneijder through the middle and Rooneyย spearheading the attack, is a mouth-watering prospect for all United fans and would be a force to be reckoned with for any sideย on the planet.ย
If Ferguson could pull off this lethal triple-signing to complement his main star, then Rooney would be fully committed toย United and would be on hisย way to joining the likes of Charlton, Best and Law as a Manchester Unitedย legend.
Jack Rodwell
4 of 5
Hmmmmm, let me thinkโa veryย promising young player whom Ferguson managed to steal from Everton before turning intoย a United and England regular. Sound familiar?
If Rodwell could have half the impact Rooney had when joining from Merseyside, then heย will have done exceptionally. United are interested in Rodwell, a controlling midfielder who could step in for the ageing Paul Scholes, and tried to sign himย at the deadline in September.
A fresh advance for the youngster and a possible swap deal,ย possibly involving Michael Carrick,ย might just be enough for David Moyes to let Rodwellย depart for pastures new.
Rodwell would flourish in partnership with the likes of Sneijder and Fletcher in the heart of the United midfield with the potential attacking forces ahead of him. He would be a great signing for Ferguson, a player he could mould into theย the link between defence and attack.ย ย ย ย
A Reliable Goalkeeper
5 of 5
After the great Peter Schmeichel left in 1999, it took Sir Alex six years to properly replace the Dane when he signed Edwin Van Der Sar from Fulham.
Some of the replacements before were tragic failures. Probably the worst was Massimo Taibi, whose one memorable moment in his four appearances was when he allowedย the tamest shot from Matt Le Tissier to go through his legs for one of the funniest goals in football history.
To keep Rooney happy, thereย can beย noย Taibi moments, When the 40-year-old Vanย Der Sar finally hangs up his boots, his replacement must come in and immediatelyย carry on where Van Der Sar left off.
Potential suitors for the job include Anders Lindegaard, another Dane who's considered a youngย Schmeichel in his homeland. United are interested andย goalkeeping coach Eric Steel has already been out to Norway to see Lindegaard in action.
Ferguson himselfย has also been out toย Spain to seeย under-21 international David de Gea (pictured) in action.
A third candidate is young German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, the 21-year-old who gained a high reputation for his performances for Germany at the World Cup, where they reached the semifinals.
These three appear toย be the front runners to replace Van Der Sar.
Whoever gets the nod must be ready to step in immediatelyย and avoid the fiasco that was leftย after Schmeichel to encourage Rooney that Manchester Unitedย is the place to be.ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย
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