Why Gremio Will Be the Best Place for Anderson to Revive His Career

Anderson's stint at Manchester United must surely be beyond repair at this point. Perhaps a move back to Gremio, the club where it all started for him, could be the tonic his career badly needs.

Bleacher Report Manchester United correspondent Rob Dawson wrote on 18 November:

"

There's no benefit staying somewhere you're not wanted, and Van Gaal doesn't need an unhappy player trotting out onto the training pitch every day.

It's a source of great frustration for many fans that the promise of his early United career has not been fulfilled. But it's time for everyone to move on. Especially Anderson.

"

In truth, Anderson's United career has long since petered out. His appearance record demonstrates that. He started 16 league games and made eight further substitute appearances in 2007/08, his first season at United. He has not matched that since. In fact, 2010/11 was the last time his total number of league starts cracked double digits at 14.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

In total, he has made just 70 league starts in the seven seasons he has been at United.

Last season, he started just two league games before going on loan to Fiorentina. This season, he started the Capital One Cup game against MK Dons and has made one substitute appearance in the league for Louis van Gaal.

This was in spite of the opportunity that may have been afforded to him by United's many injuries.

However, as Dawson wrote:

"

A recent injury he suffered was only revealed when Louis van Gaal happened to mention it in his programme notes. The journalists who attend the Dutchman's weekly press conference hadn't thought to ask about a player who has almost become an irrelevance.

"

Given that he needs to move on, what are his options? His loan move to Fiorentina last season was not an unqualified success. He made just four starts and provided no goals or assists. Mark Ogden, writing in the Telegraph, described the Italian side as "unimpressed" with the Brazilian. 

A return to Italy therefore looks unlikely.

A move back to Porto, the side from whom Anderson had signed for United, was rumoured in November 2013, per John Edwards in the Daily Mail. However, even that seemed unlikely.

"Unless he is prepared to take a massive pay cut, there seems little prospect of the Portuguese champions ending his United misery," Edwards wrote of the move.

Clive Mason/Getty Images

In the 2014 summer transfer window, Anderson was linked with moves to Santos, Atletico Mineiro and Flamengo, per Simon Jones in the Daily Mail. Jones wrote that Santos and Atletico passed on Anderson as they had "already invested in other targets," and that Anderson rejected the chance to join Flamengo "as Flamengo have developed a reputation for not getting wages to players on time."

With options limited, his boyhood club may be his last real hope.

"Anderson will leave United in January to return to Gremio," Samuel Luckhurt wrote in the Manchester Evening News on 12 November.

In the same piece, Luckhurst relays quotes given by Anderson to Radio Bandeirantes: "There's always the possibility of returning to Gremio. It's my home and I still support them—everyone knows that. It would allow me to be near my family."

Given one of Gremio's star midfielders is 40-year-old Ze Roberto, there is certainly room in their squad for Anderson, although younger players like Dudu and Ramiro have also featured heavily for the Tricolor.  

Michael Regan/Getty Images

Anderson continued (h/t the Daily Mirror): "I've spoken to them before but it never reached the point of a [concrete] offer. I was close to moving before I went to Fiorentina. I was prepared to take a pay cut but the club didn't get back to me on that occasion."

That may hint that interest in a move back to Gremio is coming from Anderson's side rather than the club. However, at just 26 years old, surely the recipient of the 2008 Golden Boy award for best under-21 footballer in Europe must still have something to offer?

Away from the stigma of disappointment that surrounds him in Europe, he may be able to rebuild his confidence. 

Once upon a time, Anderson was an exciting, dynamic footballer who seemed to have a glorious career laid out before him. A move back to his childhood club might offer him a chance to recapture some of that glory.