Nani Loan Could Be Manchester United's Best Bit of Business

This last week has been a long time coming. After scoring the first goal of his second spell at Sporting Clube de Portugal at Maribor in the Champions League this week, Luis Carlos Almeida da Cunha—Nani, to you and I—followed it up on Sunday with another stylish strike, as his new, old side crushed Gil Vicente.

The goal on Wednesday had combined all his best elements; firstly a jink inside from the right, followed by a strong left-foot finish into the far corner from outside the penalty box. Back in the Liga on Sunday, it was an instant, sweetly struck right-footer from the same sort of area. With the confidence coursing through his veins again, he even allowed himself to celebrate with the customary somersault of old at the Estadio Cidade de Barcelos.

Both goals were reminders of the real Nani. If the fleet-footedness that makes him such an eye-catching presence has always just about remained, one wondered whether that sense of certainty in the final third had left him. Now, it appears, it was simply hiding.

It was well hidden, though. Few moves under the David Moyes era at Manchester United were as perplexing as the club’s decision to tie their Portugal winger down to a new five-year contract last September, as chronicled here by BBC Sport. He had started just seven times in the Premier League in the previous season, a record reprised in 2013-14.

Injuries were clearly a major factor, but the malaise had lasted some time longer at international level. With diminishing returns, even the legendarily loyal coach Paulo Bento had been driven to look elsewhere, with Wolfsburg’s Vieirinha jumping ahead of Nani in the queue—with Portugal rarely short of available wide men, of course.

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In retrospect, the serious knee injury that compromised Vieirinha’s chances of making the World Cup (he eventually scraped into the squad after recovering just in time) might be seen as the moment that gave Nani the leg-up that he needed. Arriving in Brazil in better physical condition than his rival, Nani played every game at the tournament, having featured only five times during qualifying.

Saying he was back to his best would be to stretch the truth. In a tournament in which Bento’s squad seriously underwhelmed, Nani showed as little ability to successfully link with Cristiano Ronaldo as his teammates, but there were shoots of recovery, underpinned by his goal against the United States in Manaus.

If Nani was in physically good shape, he was still short of optimum condition in terms of concentration and decision-making. That he seemed just a fraction of his best self no doubt weighed on Louis van Gaal’s decision to loan him back to the club that made him—with United picking up the entirety of his reported £4.8m annual wages (again, as per BBC Sport).

In reality, they had little option. Whether he is part of United’s future plans or not, he is a potentially valuable asset who needs to be nurtured back to health—even if it is only to sell. Without him recovering his best form, no club who could afford that salary will want to touch him.

It is only the beginning, but the plan seems to be working. Buoyed by the warmth and affection he has received at his old home, this is Nani at his bold, puffed-chest best. He knows he is rated here and is accordingly taking on responsibility and acting like a leader. At Maribor, his goal was among a Cristiano-like tally of six shots.

No longer is he expected to match his illustrious compatriot and former clubmate, but Nani’s ability is such that if United’s last-gasp attempt to restart a stuttering career comes off, it will be one of Van Gaal’s tidiest pieces of business.