United about to start their spending spree

Manchester United are about to start their £80 million spending spree with the news that deals are being lined up for Wigan’s Antonio Valencia and Barcelona’s Samuel Eto’o. Valencia has been linked with a move to Old Trafford over the last few months but the news of a possible deal for Eto’o is more surprising.

The Barca front man is said to be growing a little frustrated at the Nou Camp and could well favour a move to England. The only English club that had been linked with him was Liverpool but with United’s new cash injection, they could well turn out to be a more inviting proposition for one of the best strikers in Europe.

Eto’o is also being tracked by Manchester City who want to offer the player the highest wages in the Premier League to take a gamble on an unproven side. United will be hoping that Eto’o does not adopt a mercenary attitude and joins them for slightly less but with a better chance of success and developing himself as a player.

They will probably have to spend up to about £30 million for Eto’o and with a £17 million deal already accepted by Wigan, that is well over half of the new cash spent already. It leaves just enough for United to either take a gamble on one of the hottest young talents in the game in Karim Benzema or opt to bid for Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery.

However, Ribery is likely to cost a lot more than the money United would have left over so they would have to dig into the pockets of the treasury at the club a little deeper. The point is that whoever Sir Alex Ferguson decides to bring in, they will have to have genuine, world class talent and potential if United are to make good the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

A spokesman for the Glazer family, who won Manchester United, said: “The idea that Manchester United are motivated by a debt burden is just not true. Cristiano Ronaldo decided, after six years, it was time to move on and the manager said, ‘OK.’ Sir Alex Ferguson is in total control of his squad. He is empowered to make whatever decisions he thinks are in the best interests of Manchester United.”

“Only the paranoia of some supporters would lead you to believe the owners are not going to continue investing in the team. A substantial number of world-class players have been brought to the club in the past few years and that will still be the case.”

The news about a possible bid for Eto’o makes you read between the lines a little bit in the respect that it suggests Carlos Tevez may not stay at the club. They may still try and do a deal to make him a permanent United player but this would cost a large sum of money and when there are so many talented players freely available, Ferguson may well decide to look elsewhere.