Bale or Sancho Man United transfers essential, says Chadwick
by Mark Brus
Former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick insists Gareth Bale could still be a key signing for his former club this summer.
The ex-Red Devil spoke to CaughtOffside about United’s transfer window, and made it clear he felt a top attacking signing was crucial for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side’s hopes for the season ahead.
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When asked about the Jadon Sancho transfer saga and about Bale’s name coming up again, Chadwick suggested either of those players would be ideal for United’s needs at the moment.
Bale hasn’t been as much of a regular for Real Madrid in recent times, but there’s no doubting his quality on his day, and Chadwick clearly thinks his style of play means it’s a risk worth taking if the opportunity presents itself.
“It’s essential that signings are made. I’m sure lots of work has gone into the Sancho deal and things seem to be getting away from them at the moment,” Chadwick told CaughtOffside.
“I think someone like Sancho adds a bit of X factor like in United teams of the past, so I think someone like him is essential. If it doesn’t happen, it will leave a bit of a hole and leaves a lack of time for the recruitment department to get someone of that quality into the club.
“I think Bale would certainly give a buzz around the place. He’s obviously had a tough few years and not played the amount of football he would have hoped, but in terms of the sort of player he is, when you talk about Man United players of the past, he’s someone who would get the crowd excited, get fans off their seats.
“A wide player in the mould of Sancho, Bale, in my opinion would be a fantastic signing. One of those two, or someone in that position, needs to come in.”
United also have issues at the back but there seems to be a lack of progress being made on additions in that department, and Chadwick feels it’s a challenging time to be in the market for a centre-back.
Chadwick acknowledged the huge impact Virgil van Dijk has had at Liverpool, but there doesn’t seem to be another player of that calibre on the market at the moment, with the 39-year-old suggesting Man Utd missed their chance when Matthijs de Ligt moved to Juventus last summer.
“There’s no one who really springs to mind that could make United into a Championship winning team,” Chadwick says. “I don’t think the club will win the title with Maguire and Lindelof at the back. Both are really good Premier League players but I don’t think they’re enough to win a Premier League.
“We saw United looking like quite a good team again … Liverpool were similar, but what tipped them over again to be a title winning team was the signing of the centre-half Van Dijk who’s turned them into that Championship winning team.
“I think the lad De Ligt who went from Ajax to Juventus, that was a deal that should have been done then (by United). Although he’s not had a brilliant time at Juve he’s the sort of player who’s going to turn into a world class central defender.”
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