da bet7k： There’s no real surprise when you hear of big clubs in England looking to Spain for their next big transfer target. The country is in economic meltdown and most of La Liga’s teams can’t afford to hang onto their best players. With that, Manchester United are targeting Valencia’s attacking midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, which, to me, comes as a bit of a surprise.
da cassino： This is not a slight on Feghouli’s ability or his performances of late for Valencia, he’s a very good player. His work rate is perhaps his greatest asset, as he continually causes the opposition problems and manages to find himself in the penalty area for important goals.
But here’s the thing: Feghouli is not a great goal scorer, nor is he really a playmaker in any traditional sense. He’s pure hard work and a very good co-pilot to the central Roberto Soldado in the Valencia attack. Feghouli is the type of player that managers want and even need because he balances out the attack. Valencia’s left flank will be accommodated by Andres Guardado, with Jonathan Viera and Pablo Piatti able to play there, too. Those are attack-minded players who play a role in the creative aspect in the final third. Once again, they play a very different type of game to Feghouli.
Feghouli is not necessarily a natural goal scorer either. His six goals from last season seems roughly what you’d expect of him, although something in the low double figures seems more reasonable as he progresses. He’s already picked up two goals this season so far and is a regular in Mauricio Pellegrino’s starting XI.
Feghouli is one of the players that Valencia needed to lean on following the departure of big names like David Silva and Juan Mata. The club aren’t going to spend big and replace like-for-like, but players like Feghouli, who was signed on a free, will be given greater roles in the side.
His introduction into the first-team as a regular helped to force a shift in playing style. As should be known, former manager Unai Emery had a lot of trouble with supporters for the style of play he was offering at the Mestalla. It wasn’t always the most attractive, but it brought out the industrious side of his players and it brought results.
Feghouli, while flourishing into a good player in this new system, hasn’t proven to be the most consistent. But this is still a player who is finding his way in the game, and at 22, the inconsistencies will be ironed out.
However, I’m not convinced of his ability to add anything substantial to Manchester United. Alex Ferguson’s team are not low on attacking midfield players, although Feghouli’s work rate wouldn’t go amiss. He seems to have found his level in the game, albeit a very high level with Valencia. He’s playing in European competition at 22 years of age and is a regular in his national side with Algeria. He may even prove to be a good deal for many sides in the Premier League, and I do believe that he would eventually prove to be a good fit. But he’s not a Manchester United player. He won’t produce title-winning performances on a regular basis and he won’t address a great need in the United squad.
If he arrived at United somewhere down the line, you can be guaranteed that the player will do what he can to fit in and be a success. If the manager needs him to play centrally and from a deep midfield position then he will. He’ll work exceptionally hard to make it work, but it’s a real question if he can step up and fill the void soon to be left by Paul Scholes.