Manchester United: Why It Is Wise for Nani to Stay at Old Trafford

There have been reports that Manchester United's star playmaker, Nani, is contemplating a move away from England in the near future—with the Italian Serie A the preferred destination.  However, the Portuguese international has already rebuked such claims via twitter. 

End of story, right?

No, what's the fun in that. 

Nani may have simply mentioned to his friends and family that he really liked Italian food, and the more tabloid-based sports media would assume he's already made a pre-contract agreement with Juventus or AC Milan.  He may like cheese-steaks, too, but that doesn't mean he's planning a move to the MLS's Philadelphia Union anytime soon.

I apologize for making anybody hungry, but the point is that the most innocent of rain showers can quickly be made into a hurricane by the media.

Even though Nani has iterated his desire to to stay at Old Trafford, it wouldn't be the first time such rumors spun out of control. So let's take a look at a few reasons why a transfer abroad in the near future wouldn't be the best of ideas.

Bad tackling is everywhere

If Nani thinks he is going to avoid bad tackling by moving to the Italian peninsula, he is horribly wrong. 

First of all, Nani has handled the whole situation with Jamie Carragher pretty poorly.  I can understand the fears involved with a possible season-ending injury, but once it was realized it was just a nasty looking gash, you'd think Nani would move on.

I can even understand not wanting to accept Carragher's apology following the match, but to continue to cry about it every time it's brought up in an interview, especially almost—two weeks later—is starting to get old very quick.

Serie A may possess better defenders throughout the league, but that doesn't mean players like Ignazio Abate or Ivan Cordoba (personal favorites) aren't afraid to lunge at Nani with a hard, two-footed challenge in order to slow him down.

Nani would have to adapt to a new league, again.

Nani joined the Red Devils during the summer of 2007 from Portuguese side, Sporting CP, for a pretty hefty fee of £18 million.  Such a steep transfer fee came with some strong expectations, which Nani failed to meet during his first two-and-a-half seasons with the club.

Although he was given plenty of opportunities to impress, Nani would usually find himself on the bench during high-pressure matches both domestically and abroad—usually second choice to veteran internationals like Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung on the left side of the United attack.

If Nani moves as soon as this summer, he is going to have to adapt to a new league all over again.  He will be expected to step in and impress right away without the luxury of a veteran presence to cover if he struggles.

His rumored destination of choice, Serie A, is a more technical and defensive league than the English Premier League right now.

Nani's diving theatrics may be more widely accepted in Italy, but he will have to learn to play in much more structured systems.  He will not find the free-flowing attacking football he has come to know at United—with Inter Milan the only club in Italy playing a similar style at the moment.

He's not going to find working-class clubs like Stoke City and Blackpool amongst the top flight in Italy to pick on with his trickery, but will be facing clubs with players who are better adapted for handling an attacking player of his caliber.

Also, Nani's greatest weaknesses are his inability to maintain possession and his lack of defensive awareness (Prime example: his lovely assist to Dirk Kuyt during United's 3-1 loss at Liverpool two weeks ago).  It would be a much wiser decision to continue working on these weaker aspects of his game at United than to have to do so while adapting to a new club's system in Italy.

Nani has proved his worth in England...

Now it has been reported that Nani "feels as though he has proved himself in England and would like to take on a new challenge in the next couple of seasons."

Yeah...

Seriously? 

This season is the first full season where Nani has played anywhere near his expected form.  He was able to escape a lot of criticism during his first few seasons with the club due to the presence of superstars like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez.

Unlike Rooney, though, Nani failed to step up following the departures Ronaldo and Tevez at the end of the 2009 season.  For the first half of the 2009/10 campaign, it was quite obvious that Nani was not taking advantage of the situation, and was facing a move away from Old Trafford as soon as the winter transfer window opened that season.

Despite his lack of form and apparent disregard for Sir Alex Ferguson's management techniques, Nani was retained and amazingly rewarded his manager's faith in him with a stellar second half.  His positive output both on and off the field resulted in a new four-year contract, tying him to the club until 2014.

His good form from the second-half of last season has carried over tenfold.  At 24, he is having a breakout year with 10 goals to go along with 14 assists in 35 appearances in all competitions for United this season.

One decent season in England, though, doesn't mean he's proven anything; at least to me.  He's just starting to find his form in the Premier League, and a move to Italy right now will look more like a hasty escape than a well-earned step in a new direction.

However, if he "feels" like he has proved his worth to Manchester United, then all the power to him.