Vinícius Júnior, the Real Madrid winger, might be heading towards Manchester United next summer, as per the latest reports. Vinícius is one of the most exciting young players in the world at the moment, notching up 69 goals and 36 assists in 243 matches so far for Los Blancos and has also won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles with them.
At 23, Vinícius still has a long way to go in his career and signing him could prove to be a long term solution for the struggling Manchester United. However, the astronomical amount they will have to pay for him is also something they will have to consider.
Vinícius will provide yet another option down the left for Manchester United
Manchester United have a lot of attacking options through the left like Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial. While Garnacho has been decent given his lack of experience at the top level, both Rashford and Martial have had underwhelming seasons for the Red Devils.
At this rate, Martial is probably not going to be a part of United’s squad next season. With Jadon Sancho also offloaded to Borussia Dortmund on loan, United does not have a specialist right winger in their team except a terribly out-of-form Antony.
In fact, they have looked the most threatening in their attacks whenever Rashford has had the opportunity and space to attack through the inside-left channel. Should United go on to sign Vinícius, it will mean that Rashford will have to play on his less-preferred right flank.
It is not an ideal scenario for United and might not provide them with the solution to their problem. If the club management are seriously contemplating the move, they will have to keep the above conundrum in mind.
Vinícius will bring a few positives with him
However, the signing of Vinícius will still be beneficial to a United side struggling to find creativity in their line-up, all things considered. Financially, it will mean a big expense for them, as Real Madrid is seemingly going to put a huge price-tag on him to accommodate the much-awaited signing of Kylian Mbappé.
However, with the exception of Mbappé, there is hardly any left winger as exciting and as enterprising as Vinícius in world football at the moment. He is slippery inside the final third and can finish as well create chances for his teammates with consummate ease.
Still, if Manchester United is seriously targeting him, they will have to think of offloading a few players like Hannibal Mejbri and Facundo Pellistri, neither of whom have had much to do at the club so far. They are also likely to sell Sancho next season, as the English forward has soured his relations with Erik ten Hag.
As of now, it is by no means a foregone conclusion that ten Hag will remain United’s coach at the start of the next season. Hence the club management will have to take a call in this regard and decide whether they should go ahead with a high-value signing that it promises to be.
Going by the track record of Raphael Varane and Casemiro, the two other players they have obtained from Real Madrid, they might be a bit apprehensive to take the plunge. However, it is also to be taken into consideration that Vinicius is much younger than either of them and might have a lot more to contribute.