Manchester United’s turgid performance on the south-coast this weekend has raised more questions as to whether the Red Devils still possess the quality to compete at the top.
Playing out a 2-2 draw, after being two goals down to Southampton, a single point leaves the 13-time Premier League champions slinking further away from the leading pack and there is now a very real concern that a top four position - and subsequent European qualification - may in fact evade them this season.
Whilst United can’t move off a goal difference of -1 (-1!!), their fans have had to watch rivals Manchester City once again score an abundance of goals, at 43, almost double the tally United have wracked up, and top the EPL table.
United attackers Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, and Alexis Sanchez - currently out until the New Year with an injury sustained in training - all have the potential, but something is clearly stagnating.
With those plethora of options on the left, Manchester United’s predominant right flank conundrum could be solved with the news that dynamic winger Arjen Robben is leaving Bayern Munich after a decade at the club when the 2018/19 season ends.
Announcing this weekend that "It was ten great years. It's been nice. This is my last season ", to German publication Omnisport (via Die Telegraaf), this could potentially line up a quite remarkable transfer to Manchester, providing a reunion with his former manager Jose Mourinho at Old Trafford.
Robben played under ‘The Special One’ throughout Mourinho’s initial spell in the Premier League in West London, between 2004 and 2007, helping Chelsea win back-to-back titles and their first in half a century.
That same summer in fact, before moving to Chelsea, Robben had in fact been on the verge of joining Manchester United from PSV Eindhoven, even holding a meet with the then-Reds manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
At Munich, whom he arrived at from Real Madrid in 2009, Robben has won everything possible; a simply astonishing haul of seven Bundesliga titles, four DFB Pokal and SFL Supercups apiece, and a UEFA Champions League for good measure.
The Dutch winger has made over 200 appearances for Bayern Munich, registering an eye-watering 143 goals and 101 assists, consistently proving to be considered amongst Europe’s best. He’s gone way further than just removing the moniker ‘The Man Of Glass’ that was constantly attached to him earlier on his career because of an extremely poor injury record.
About to turn 35-years-old in January, this is not a viable long-term option, nor one that would titillate a whole host of Manchester United fans. From a pragmatic standpoint, and one that shouldn’t prove too costly after Robben leaves the Bavarians for free upon his contract expiration, this could be a transfer that could rectify one glaring issue currently blighting the Red Devils.
