Manchester United Transfer News: Stefan de Vrij a Sensible Target for Red Devils

As if re-establishing Manchester United back among the upper reaches of English football’s elite wasn’t a difficult enough task in itself, Louis van Gaal will have to do so without two of the club’s most iconic defenders.

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The Dutch boss will have to rebuild the Red Devils’ central defence after both Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have left Old Trafford in search of pastures new, and he’s reportedly targeted Feyenoord’s Stefan de Vrij as a man who can fill the void left by the departure of those two senior figures.

According to Simon Jones of the Daily Mail, the Dutch outfit believe that De Vrij’s departure is inevitable, with both the Red Devils and Lazio interested in signing the player. But Jones also suggests that despite the Italians’ interest in the young defender, De Vrij will reject the option of a move to Serie A in favour of joining up with Van Gaal in Manchester.

Feyenoord coach Fred Rutten seems prepared for a potential sale and is quoted in Jones’ piece as saying that “players always leave if a club is successful,” and De Vrij himself insisted last month that “the chances are that I will leave,” per RTV Rijnmond (via Gary Jones of the Daily Star).

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De Vrij has been a key figure in Van Gaal’s Netherlands team progressing to the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup. He has showcased a level of maturity that belies a typical 22-year-old, not to mention an adaptability to fit into a variety of different systems and tactical setups.

OptaJohan provides us with an indication as to how important De Vrij has been to the Oranje’s cause out in Brazil:

It’s easy to see why the new United boss is targeting the Feyenoord man, a player whom he clearly has a lot of trust in despite his relative inexperience. Van Gaal has showcased a plethora of different stylistic game plans throughout this tournament, and he will need players who are versatile when it comes to switching systems from week to week or even during a game.

De Vrij is capable of doing that, and if he was to don the red of United next season, he could help be a catalyst for the implementation of those kinds of tactical tweaks. But he’s not just an adaptable player, he’s a fine defender too, as we can see here:

Admittedly, there are improvements to be made in his game, as is the case with any young defender. On occasions, he can be overly physical with his opponents, not to mention a little rash when trying to nick the ball back in dangerous areas. These deficiencies were noted here by Bleacher Report’s Sam Tighe in the Netherlands’ win over Chile:

But this World Cup has been a big learning experience for him, and in the match that followed the Chile game, De Vrij put in a mature and commanding performance to help his team progress to the quarter-finals of the competition. The indications are that he’s a player who appreciates he has a lot to learn, and Old Trafford would be an excellent environment for him to develop as a player.

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The links between Van Gaal and the Dutch players are admittedly becoming a little tenuous, but with United in desperate need of a centre-back, the Dutch boss could do a lot worse than a player whom he knows and clearly has a huge amount of faith in. For a reported fee of £7 million plus add-ons, he’d be an absolute steal for the Red Devils.

Having already snapped up Luke Shaw, De Vrij would add even more youthful exuberance to United’s defence. If the Feyenoord man was to sign, he could be one of the most understated key captures that the Red Devils make this transfer window.