Reports suggest that Pedro is questions whether to move to Manchester United or not
Barcelona winger Pedro is reportedly questioning whether a move to Manchester United would be the right for him following the breakdown in communication with both Victor Valdes and David De Gea between Louis van Gaal. Valdes was a teammate of Pedro when at Barcelona, whilst De Gea is a teammate for the Spanish national team. The ex-Barcelona keeper, who went to Old Trafford last winter on a free transfer, fell out with the manager over playing in a reserve match – whilst United’s player of the season last term, was reported to have declined to play for the club following his apparent desire to join Real Madrid.
Will the potential transfer of Pedro hit a snag due to Louis van Gaal’s treatment of Valdes and De Gea?
Gary Neville questions United’s handling of De Gea affair
Former Manchester United defender, Gary Neville, has questioned the handling of the De Gea affair and argued that the club should have wrapped up a contract extension a couple of years ago, considering the quality of the player. Neville obviously knows the intricate nature of contract negotiations within the club’s hierarchy and if there was any hesitation from Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and now Louis van Gaal to offer an extension to player who has grown into one of the best keeper’s in the world – then this has been a monumental error of judgement.
This has been badly managed by Manchester United, make no mistake about that, to allow a player of his quality not to extend a couple of years ago,”
– Former United defender Gary Neville
Its impossible to know what negotiations are going on behind closed doors, but De Gea’s reluctance to sign a new deal indicates he favours a move to the Spanish capital. Real Madrid, aware they are in the driving seat, do not want to pay United’s £35million valuation of the keeper due to his contract expiring next summer. United are reluctant to sell unless the price is right or if Sergio Ramos heads to Old Trafford in exchange for the keeper.
It is a sorry state of affairs and Louis van Gaal broke his silence on Thursday to inform the world that David De Gea “does not want to play for Manchester United”. The following day, De Gea stated that he said nothing of the sort and never expressed a desire not to play. Something has to give, but it is looking increasingly likely that David De Gea has played his last match for the club.
Victor Valdes United career over before it begun
Victor Valdes is a good goalkeeper who has won it all with Barcelona. However, many reds were concerned that his signing last season would spark the end of the road for De Gea, who has long been a target for Real Madrid. Valdes made his debut against Arsenal for the club, following an injury to De Gea, and proceeded to flap at a cross in the final game of the season – before making a world class save some minutes later.
He is not selected because he doesn’t follow our philosophy and there is no place for that one player,”
– Louis van Gaal on Valdes (July 15)
It was reported that Valdes was unhappy at being asked to play for the reserves and refused to play in the match. The former Barcelona man was angry at the suggestion that he refused to play – ironically similar to the situation that De Gea now finds himself in – and posted his thoughts through social media and the fact that he had played in reserve team fixtures previously. The signing of Valdes was a career move for the Spaniard, who would never be happy to play second fiddle to another keeper. This is why his signing raised eyebrows – would De Gea be off to make way for Valdes?
Pedro is a good friend of Valdes and it is reported that the winger is questioning whether or not a move to United would be right for him, considering van Gaal is at the helm. The player has a €30million buyout clause, which United can easily meet – but so can rivals Manchester City, who could opt for the Spaniard if their pursuit of Wolfsburg’s Kevin De Bruyne, who is City’s first choice, falls through.
Do you think Louis van Gaal’s methodology with David De Gea and Victor Valdes will impact Pedro’s decision to join United?
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