We all know that for years now Manchester United have been searching for a new Roy Keane, and for many years the man Fergie considered best to fill the Irishman?s boots was Patrick Vieira. However, in his final season for Arsenal he looked a shadow of his former self, no longer the rampaging dynamic midfielder he once was, he seemed slow and lugubrious, at times almost disinterested. Like the ageing Keane it seemed that even on the occasions that the spirit was willing, the body was not, and so Arsene Wenger sold him to Juventus at the beginning of last season for around ?13m (a deal I personally felt was a shrewd piece of business, considering his form and the fact that he was originally signed for a fraction of that price).

And so as Vieira toiled away rather sluggishly in Turin (the clubs? nickname of The Old Lady seeming quite apt at times), his name was barely even mentioned when Man Utd?s midfield shortcomings were discussed. Now 30, many feel (with good reason) that he is past his best and in any case, with Juventus so dominant in Italy it seemed unlikely he would have any reason to leave.

But then, of course, came the match fixing scandal and Juve?s relegation to Serie B (as well having to begin next season with ?30 points). It seems that most ? if not all ? of Juve?s top players are up for grabs, Vieira among them, and so I?m not really surprised to see his name linked with us once again, as it seems we?re ready to offer him an escape route out of Serie B. What?s more, with Keane gone and van Nistelrooy likely to be on his way to Real Madrid very soon, the two Utd players who bear the most animosity towards Vieira (dating back to his Arsenal days) would no longer be present should he arrive at Old Trafford.

The question is would Vieira really make a good addition to our squad? I?ve said many times that we need one, if not two, top-class central midfielders (and I?ll keep saying it until we buy some) and Vieira fits that bill, at least reputation-wise, if perhaps not form-wise in these past couple of domestic seasons. I think it was probably the World Cup rather than Juve?s relegation that resulted in Vieira re-appearing on Fergie?s radar. His form for France was like a microcosm of the team as a whole, poor in the first two games but then, once his goal flew in against Togo, both player and team seemed transformed. As brilliant and mercurial as Zidane was in those games against Spain and Brazil, it was Vieira who was the real driving force behind France?s unexpected run to the final. He looked suddenly full of energy and vigour, crunching into tackles like it was 2003 again, and proving that he was still as comfortable as anyone in possession.

Despite his ties to Arsenal, if he could re-create this kind of form in a Utd shirt I would gladly welcome him into the team and he would be a great addition to the squad. My worry is, though, that he won?t be able to be as consistently good as he used to be for Arsenal in his heyday, and at 30, its highly likely he will only get worse. Age will certainly limit him, as like Keane he relies on his athleticism and energy to play his game, and as we saw, injuries and age caught up with Keane is his latter years and he was no longer the box-to-box midfielder of old, preferring instead to stay deep in what now appears to be universally known as ?the Makelele role? which limited his role ? and influence ? quite considerably.

This reminds me a little of the time we signed Laurent Blanc. He had been one of the best central defenders of his generation as was a player Fergie had coveted for many years, so when an opportunity came along to sign him, he took it. Sadly for us, we signed the great Frenchman a few years too late, and even though it was wonderful to watch him react to every single situation with almost ridiculous calm, Blanc, at the time, was no longer a great player. The same, I think, could now be said about Patrick Vieira. Already as I?m writing this I fear these words will come back to haunt me, and should he sign for Utd I hope they do, but right now I?m not convinced that this will be an astute signing for the club, and believe we?d be better off going for someone younger.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 16th, 2006 at 10:01 am and is filed under Manchester United. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.