MARTIN SAMUEL’S BRILLIANT COLUMN
Sami Khedira has been offered to manchester United this summer on wages of £200,000 a week. Of course he has. There will be more than a few agents who recall United’s largesse from a year ago and fancy a slice of that.
This time, however, it has to be different. if United are in the market for a real madrid player, there should be only one name on the list. Were they to break the bank again, it must be for Gareth Bale.
if Bale moves this summer — and it is by no means guaranteed — Bale wins the league for his english club next season. it really is as simple as that. if he signs for Chelsea, Chelsea retain the title; if he signs for manchester United, Old Trafford claims its first championship of the post-Ferguson era.
The same with arsenal — even manchester City, if they hold on to their Champions League place. This is the robin van Persie transfer all over again — and the managers know it, too.
Back in 2012, roberto mancini was furious at manchester City’s failure to sign Van Persie from arsenal. equally, he was wary of the impact he would have at manchester United. and he was right. Van Persie won the league that season. had he signed for City, mancini would have kept the league title. instead he went to United, helped Sir alex Ferguson knock City off their expensively acquired perch and mancini was fired.
The italian may not have been the most popular figure at the club by the time of his departure, but he knew his football. midway through the campaign he acknowledged Van Persie’s arrival as the deciding factor. ‘he changed their season,’ he said. ‘he is the difference between us.’
manuel Pellegrini does not have mancini’s confrontational edge but one cannot help but think there was a coded message in his insistence that City must land at least one major signing this summer. ‘Big teams need to sign a big player,’ he said, before monday’s defeat at Crystal Palace. ‘it is important — not just at manchester City but at real madrid, manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern munich.’
Pellegrini wasn’t naming names, obviously, but how many individuals of that ability come on the market each year?
Take summer 2014. Would Pellegrini place James rodriguez, Toni Kroos, angel di maria, alexis Sanchez, Cesc Fabregas or diego Costa in that category — or is he thinking purely of Barcelona’s acquisition of Luis Suarez? if he is, then Bale is an upgrade even on that deal, considering he is not encumbered by suspension or a predilection for taking a light opponent-based snack in the middle of a game.
BaLe can define the Premier League title race in a way he cannot influence La Liga because of Lionel messi. The argentine is the best in the world right now and ever more potent beside Suarez and Neymar. Frankly, Bale isn’t even the best player at real madrid, given the presence of Cristiano ronaldo, scorer of five goals against Granada in a 9-1 win at the weekend.
Yet in england, with the possible exception of eden hazard, Bale would stand apart. in partnership with hazard, Chelsea would be close to unstoppable; yet manchester United will feel the same if they can reignite the threat of Bale and di maria on the wings with Wayne rooney down the middle. Bale, david Silva and Sergio aguero at manchester City; Bale and Sanchez at arsenal?
at every club, Bale would be the key, the player who takes them to another level. Sadly, if Liverpool and Tottenham hotspur do not make the Champions League next season it would not be worth even entering the auction. City, too, for that matter.
One theory is that manchester United have the ultimate bargaining chip in david de Gea. real madrid need a goalkeeper and if de Gea is intent on leaving why not offer him as part of a bid for Bale? after all, de Gea has been magnificent this season — arguably the Premier League’s best — but he is not irreplaceable. if he leaves, United could do worse than offer Chelsea £10million for Petr Cech.
Yet Cech could also feature in any Chelsea raid for Bale. might real madrid be equally interested in him, and for less than half de Gea’s price? For that matter, would manchester City be prepared to part with Joe hart if it meant securing Bale? The only elite english club without a worldclass goalkeeper to offer real madrid would be arsenal — yet does anyone see them being part of this battle anyway? They should be — particularly with Bale’s Welsh team-mate aaron ramsey such an important part of the team — but they won’t.
real madrid recognised Bale’s potential two summers ago, and have been handsomely rewarded. Without doubt he helped them to their 10th european Cup win. he is a player who influences. does anyone think Wales would stand on the brink of winning their european Championship qualifying group if Bale was not part of the team?
Khedira makes a team stronger; Bale makes them champions. mancini knew that about Van Persie; and they all know who makes the difference this summer, too.