Cav ‘insult’ is uncalled for

OLE Gunnar Solskjaer took a risk when he turned to Edinson Cavani last summer.

United were in need of attacking reinforcement to transform their front line.

“We need more goalscorers, more goals, someone who wants to break their nose or toe to score,” Solskjaer stated in January 2020. “It doesn’t always have to be nice goals. I need to challenge them more.”

Cavani certainly ticked that box, as he’s proven already in his short time at Old Trafford and many critics have been proven wrong by his acquisition.

Seven goals this season is an admirable return for the 34-year-old. Club officials were mocked when they compared his arrival to that of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he might not quite be the Swede but he has most certainly added a similar sense of authority to an otherwise juvenile squad.

The Uruguayan forward has been a successful signing, that isn’t up for debate. However, continued uncertainty regarding his future is undermining a club which gave him an unexpected final lifeline in European football.

If those original comments from Cavani’s father were enough to enrage supporters by suggesting his son does ‘not feel comfortable’ in Manchester, the latest reaction in South America has amplified frustration to an entirely new level.

Both the Uruguayan national team assistant coach, Mario Rebollo, and a ‘close family friend’, Alexander Medina, have expressed belief Cavani would be better off in South America.

To undermine United so publicly is an insult given it is Cavani who owes the club for taking such a gamble.

The irony is had United not given him a chance to prove himself, he wouldn’t have had such an issue with a perceived lack of game time.

In five months at the club Cavani has highlighted the long-term need for a No.9 specialist in attack, however, those close to him perhaps need to remember that it is he who is indebted to United, not the other way around.