Wesley Sneijder to Manchester United: 7 Red Devils Who Won't Like the Move

If Wesley Sneijder lands himself at the Theatre of Dreams next season, it would really be a dream come true for the millions of Manchester United fans worldwide. But how will the squad take to the arrival of a new superstar?

The Inter Milan playmaker has already been talked up by ex-Red Gary Neville and Sir Alex Ferguson's No. 2, René Meulensteen.

But the arrival of a player of Sneijder's stature is bound to create insecurities within the squad.

The Dutchman recently led Inter Milan to a historic treble and followed it up by leading his national side to the World Cup final.

He has also been touted by many as the ideal replacement for United legend Paul Scholes.

Such a player will obviously walk into the first team.

So, here's a list of seven players in the United squad who could be a tad apprehensive about Sneijder's arrival:

Darron Gibson

Darron Gibson scored his first league goal for Manchester United in the last game of the 2008-09 season against Hull City.

It was a screamer of a goal from 25 yards out, very Scholes-esque, and gave United fans a lot of hope for the future.

Gibson was soon proclaimed the next Paul Scholes due to his penchant for the long-rangers.

But the Irishman's performance in the last couple of seasons has in no way justified that tag.

Gibson's primary problem is that he hasn't got the engine to perform at a world-class level.

He is comfortable with the ball when he has a lot of space around him, but he just cannot keep possession when put under pressure.

Gibson is extremely immobile, which can be overlooked if you're sensational with the ball, but he sadly isn't.

He might delight the crowd with a few efforts from outside the 18-yard box, but they are hardly ever on target.

Gibson was restricted to a handful of substitute appearances last season and should expect to see a lot more of the bench next season if Sneijder arrives, that is if he isn't sold off.

Anderson

Anderson was bought from Porto four seasons ago as an attacking midfielder and a replacement for Paul Scholes.

But the Brazilian has been deployed as a defensive midfielder over the years due to his lack of prowess in front of goal, which sometimes makes me wonder—is he really Brazilian?

However, his defensive side has improved over the years, and we saw him link up well with Michael Carrick towards the end of last season.

Anderson is an industrious player and covers a lot of ground during a match. He can run up and down the pitch, put in a tackle or two and break up play. He is one of the better box-to-box players there is in the Premier League.

But his passing isn't exactly world class, and he tends to lose possession of the ball pretty quickly.

Wesley Sneijder will bring in that world-class passing and ball-control.

Anderson could link up well with Sneijder for all you know. But the Brazilian's inefficiency in dribbling and keeping possession of the ball could see him lose that spot to Michael Carrick, who is more composed and stronger defensively.

Darren Fletcher

With the defensive midfielder position going to either of Michael Carrick or Anderson, Darren Fletcher will find himself in a bit of a spot with the arrival of Wesley Sneijder.

Fletcher missed the majority of the second half of last season with a stomach virus, which saw the introduction of a new midfield pairing of Anderson and Michael Carrick for the Red Devils.

The duo linked up well together and showed a lot of understanding and composure in their passing and ball control.

Fletcher continues to recover from his illness at United's Carrington training complex, while the rest of the squad are on a preseason tour to the United States.

The Scotsman might just find it difficult to grab a place in the starting XI once he's back to match fitness.

Ji Sung Park

Ji Sung Park was already involved in a transfer rumor after the arrival of Ashley Young last month.

The 30-year-old midfielder was one of United's most consistent performers last season and is the quintessential big-game player.

Park is as versatile as they come and can play anywhere in the midfield. Last season, he found himself primarily on the wings following Antonio Valencia's injury.

However, the arrival of Ashley Young and, now possibly, Wesley Sneijder is bound to see his playing time reduce. The South Korean would be tempted to reconsider his future.

With only a year left in his current deal with United, it is to be seen whether Park signs a new contract before the start of next season.

Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov was the top scorer in the Premier League last season with 20 goals.

However, the Bulgarian found himself warming the bench towards the latter part of the season due to the tremendous success of the Wayne Rooney-Chicharito partnership.

In fact, Berbatov did not even make the 18-man squad for the Champions League final against Barcelona.

Although Berbatov's silky and languid style of play is pleasing to the eyes, there's been a lot of debate as to whether his style suits Manchester United.

Towards the end of last season, Berbatov was mainly deployed as a substitute for one of the lead striking pair or as a third striker when the team was in dire need of a goal.

Wesley Sneijder, who can also play as a second striker, is a player who is guaranteed to bring in the goals.

So, the man who prides himself as Manchester United's record signing can expect to watch many more games from the sidelines next season.

Will he be OK with that?

Nani

Nani has a dubious reputation of being a selfish player who looks for self-glory and puts his own interests before the team's. 

Even though Nani has improved leaps and bounds last season which saw him provide 18 assists in addition to the nine goals he scored, the Portuguese winger likes to be at the center of attention.

A superstar like Wesley Sneijder is bound to poach all the limelight away from Nani and I, for one, am really looking forward to seeing how Nani copes with it!

Sneijder is also an outstanding dead ball specialist and is bound to hog all the free kicks—an area Nani has made his ever since Cristiano Ronaldo vacated it.

So, how does Nani handle this?

We can expect to see a few additions to Nani's already sufficient bag of tricks and, perhaps, a tweak in his goal celebration style?

A moonwalk, maybe, given his resemblance to the King of Pop?

It's all good as long as his game doesn't suffer!

Wayne Rooney

Wesley Sneijder is most efficient in a role filling in the hole behind the striker(s).

He provides the ideal linkup between the central midfield and attack. He can increase the fluency of play with his sublime and instinctive touches, along with providing pinpoint accurate crosses to the wingers on the counter-attack.

Sneijder is the archetypal No. 10.

But the last time I checked,  Manchester United already have a No. 10, and a pretty good one at that!

Wayne Rooney has been playing the above-mentioned role to perfection for Manchester United after the last restructuring of the formation following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure.

Sir Alex would not want to disturb the combination that's been doing so well now, would he?

But Sneijder's arrival may force him to rethink his strategy. This might just force a change in Rooney's position and role.

On a more pressing issue, Rooney recently spent £10,000 on a follicle transplant to cure his balding dome and is pictured above displaying his new look.

I hate to be the one to break this to you, Wayne, but Sneijder sports the exact same look!

Here's hoping those anger management classes pay off!