Manchester United Transfer Rumors: Selling Nani to Zenit Would Be a Mistake

Selling Nani to Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg would be a mistake by Manchester United, who need the Portuguese winger for his goal scoring and playmaking ability.

Per the Daily Mail:

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Zenit St Petersburg are pursuing a £25m bid for Manchester United winger Nani, who has yet to agree a new contract at Old Trafford. 

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Nani has enjoyed a lot of success with United since arriving to the club in 2007, so it's a bit surprising that his tenure at Old Trafford might be nearing the end.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson does have a few quality wingers in the squad, but Nani is more talented and brings more versatility to the team than Ashley Young or Valencia.

The real issue at hand is the squad's depth on the wings. If Young and/or Valencia get hurt this season and are forced to miss games, United won't have another winger with the attacking talent that Nani brings to the pitch.

Nani ranked fourth in goals and second in assists during league play for United last season, and Wayne Rooney and Ji-Sung Park were the only attacking players who started more league games than he did.

During the 2010-11 Premier League season, Nani was fourth on the squad in goals, first in assists and third in games started. He also won the club's 2011 Players' Player of the Year award following United's record 19th league title.

Nani has impressive goal-scoring ability, can send dangerous crosses into the box from the wing, has great pace and makes things happen with his dribbling and clever passes.

He's an important player to United, and at just 25 years of age, the best of Nani's career is still ahead of him.

It would be a mistake to sell a player who has enjoyed a lot of success with the club, is still young and can bring a skill set to United's attack that no other player in the squad can offer.

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Nicholas Goss is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.