Manchester United Transfer News: Club Will Regret Holding On to Nani
Despite constant rumors and speculation, it appears that Nani will be staying with Manchester United. This will end up being a mistake for the legendary club.
Adam Marshall reported on the Manchester United official site that the winger is not going anywhere. When asked if Nani is staying, Sir Alex Ferguson responded, "Yes. Absolutely. Why would I want to let him go?"
It turns out that there are a lot of reasons to let him go. Primarily, his value to other teams is incredibly high.
Rival clubs see a player still in his prime that has been one of the best distributors in the world over his career. He has a tremendous amount of talent that anyone would want on their roster.
For this reason, Manchester United can get a lot in return for the player. Sam Mokbel and Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail reported that the club is asking for £20 million and could get close to that much from someone like Arsenal.
In addition, it is possible that he could part of a package with David de Gea to bring about the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Antony Kastrinakis of The Sun.
These possibilities are simply too good to just ignore.
To make the decision easier, it appears that Nani has fallen out of favor with his current club.
While the Portuguese player has been dealing with a hamstring injury, he has struggled to get onto the pitch when healthy. He only has four starts in Premier League games this season and has been used as a late sub on three occasions.
This is an extension of problems from the beginning of the year, when a club source has some harsh words for the struggling player after a loss to Everton (via ESPN):
"Forget about a new contract - or being allowed to leave on the cheap. The club did not think his form at the end of last season put him in a very strong bargaining position over a new deal. Monday was hardly his best either.
"
Manchester United currently has a seven-point lead in the EPL without much contribution from Nani. It is certainly able to continue this solid run without him, especially if they used his fee to acquire new talent.
If you are not utilizing a top talent, it only makes sense to get some value from him in other ways. Otherwise, he will continue to be wasted on the sidelines.
Ferguson stated that Nani is not going anywhere, but this is a move that he will eventually regret.
