Manchester United are reportedly considering making a move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho in January after the club’s scouts were spotted at Sporting’s 3-1 defeat to Rio Ave last Sunday.
Portuguese publications A Bola and O Jogo confirmed ( as reported by metro ) that United’s official were in the stands on Sunday at the Estadio Dos Arcos and whilst neither publication did not name specifically which player Mourinho’s men were looking at, it is heavily thought that United were looking at Carvalho.
The 24-year-old has been frequently linked with a move to Old Trafford over the past few transfer windows and while Sporting are desperate to keep hold of their star man, they can do little to stand in the player’s way should any club meet his forty five million pound release clause.
Carvalho joined Sporting as a teenager back in 2011 and has since gone on to become an integral part of the side. His excellent reading of the game combined with his fantastic ability to keep possession of the ball makes him one of the finest midfielders in Europe and a player which would undoubtedly strengthen Manchester United’s midfield.
Carvalho would provide Mourinho with another option in the centre of midfield and arguably prove to be an improvement to what they already have in Marouane Fellaini and Morgan Schneiderlin. The duo talented footballers but neither have shown so far throughout their Manchester United careers that they deserve a regular starting spot in the centre of United’s midfield.
Over the years Mourinho has always relied on a top notch defensive midfielder who can take charge of a midfield, protect the back four and maintain possession on the ball to help him be successful. Claude Makelele, Nemanja Matic, and Sami Khedira have all in the past stepped up to the plate and delivered when it mattered most for Mourinho and should Carvalho join up at Old Trafford he could yet become the Portuguese number one defensive midfielder.
Signing Carvalho would be admittedly a gamble but it is a gamble worth taking. At twenty-four years of age Carvalho is a player who is about to enter his peak years as a footballer. Mourinho wouldn’t be getting a player for the future, nor a player whose best days are behind him, he would be getting a player for the here and now.
Upon his arrival Mourinho stated that he needed specialists in key areas across the pitch in order to take Manchester United back to the top and in Carvalho he is without question just that a specialist and if the new United boss manages to persuade the midfielder to join the club in January it could be prove to be a significant moment in how United’s bid to win the premier league title this season pans out.
