Manchester United are reported interested in signing Juventus winger Douglas Costa, according to reports by The Mirror. The 29-year-old is said to be a fall back option in case United do not end up signing Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund this summer, which could well be a possibility.n That said, the Brazilian would not fit in with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s plan for United moving forward and would be another short-term option and not a permanent fix. United need to be doing a lot better.
I have nothing against Costa other than the fact I do not think there will be any major benefit from United signing him. If you look back at his season with Juventus, despite making 29 appearances in all competitions, he scored just three goals and seven assists, which is not really something that would suggest Solskjaer needs to sign the player. Of course, Sir Alex Ferguson was once interested in signing the Brazilian but that does not mean he still has something to give to a club like United.
Juventus seem desperate to offload the player this summer, which suggests even more warning signs regarding a possible deal. The club will want to receive a good fee the for the player, with his current contract expiring in the summer of 2022. In a year’s time, the club will be lucky to get much money for the player. Clubs like United should be steering well clear of players that are earning large wages at other big European clubs. If they end up signing Costa, it will be like they never learned anything from the dreadful Alexis Sanchez deal.
Granted, spending £108 million on Jadon Sancho this summer is a massive load of cash but considering the player if 20, he has a long career ahead of him. He could remain at the Old Trafford club for 10-15 years, meaning he could cost United £10.8 million a season, plus wages, if he remained at the club for a decade. However, if his progress continued and he managed to become a much better player at United, his resale fee could rise which might even see United appear in a position that could see the value of the club rise, which seems to be important for Ed Woodward and the Glazers.
Players like Costa, who have had good careers in the game will continue to do the opposite for United, therefore should be largely ignored. What does it say about United’s prospects when they look for aging players instead of competing to sign the best players in the world. Sancho could become much like Cristiano Ronaldo did at United, growing in stature and vastly compete to become one of the players that eventually takes the reigns from the likes of Lionel Messi and Ronaldo.
Costa seems to be a player that could do some business in the Premier League, however, not for United. The Old Trafford club will see Costa as a player with a relatively low transfer fee with the money men seeing the benefits there instead of Sancho, when in actual fact, Sancho would help make the club more money, especially if the football became a much better brand at the club, which is needed. United’s first XI look great right now but the depth of the club is littered with players that do not quite have enough to give to the club. The club does not need another one of those.
Written by John Walker
