This weekend saw the completion of two of the longest-running (and for neutral fans, dullest) transfer sagas of the summer as we waved goodbye to Ruud van Nistelrooy, one of the highest scorers in our history, and welcomed Michael Carrick in from Spurs.

Naturally I?m sad to see van Nistelrooy leave, but it?s not as if this is a surprise, I?ve had plenty of time to come to terms with the fact that he won?t be starting the season with us, and I wish him well at Madrid. I think the fee (of around ?10.3m) is quite a good one for a 30-year-old striker on the back of a poor World Cup, and for all Fergie?s talk of van Nistelrooy being worth as much as Shevchenko, he must have known we would never get anywhere near that price (unless Chelsea decided to make a surprise bid).

No, what worries me about the Dutchman?s sale is not the price, but rather the thought that Fergie might not be able to (or even want to) replace him. With our main striking target Fernando Torres indicating that he wants to say with Atletico Madrid for one more season at least, it looks likely that we?ll start the season with Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Alan Smith and Guiseppe Rossi (provided he isn?t loaned out, a prospect that?s not out of the question) as our first-team strikers. I think that these 5 between them should score enough goals to keep us in contention for a top four spot (I?m still finding it hard to predict where we?ll finish) but none of them look as if they?ll be as reliable a goal scorer as van Nistelrooy.

However, in happier news, we?ve finally signed a decent central midfielder in the shape of Michael Carrick. Personally, I think the price (revealed to be ?18.6m this morning) is too much for a player who is undoubtedly good, but not quite the finished article either. He will really have to raise his game to justify such a large transfer fee and I worry that the fee will be a millstone around Carrick’s neck, that the pressure of living up to the fee will be too much for him. Still, I shouldn?t complain, he?ll certainly be better than Darren Fletcher.

I only hope that the strengthening of our midfield does not begin and end with the signing of Carrick. If it does, we?ll be in trouble, simply because although Carrick possesses a lot of ability, he?s by no means a great tackler. He?s going to need someone beside him in the midfield to close down the opposition and win the ball, and it?s well-known that we don?t currently posses anyone who can do that well enough. To that end, it does seem Fergie is intent on signing a ball-winner to compliment Carrick, and in the last few days we?ve been linked with moves for Corinthian?s Javier Mascherano and Villarreal?s Marcos Senna. I know which of the two I?d prefer, but equally I know which is more likely to happen, and the two are not the same. I don?t know how much money we have to spend this summer, but there?s a good chance we could be priced out of a move for Mascherano on the back of his excellent World Cup (although Corinthian?s current struggles in the Brazilian championship give me some hope).

At around ?3m - ?4m, Senna, although 30, would represent good value for money. He may not be flashy or the most skilful player around, but he?s very good at what he does, and I would welcome him into the squad.

So it seems that even though it took us a while to get going in the transfer market, the signs are we?re not finished just yet, and there could be an interesting couple of weeks ahead.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 1st, 2006 at 12:18 pm 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.