Life under new (interim) manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has started brightly for Manchester United, who registered five goals in a Premier League fixture for the first time since the Sir Alex Ferguson era with an opening win for the Norwegian ‘Baby-Faced Assassin’ over his old club Cardiff City.
Despite the buoyancy that result provided to fans who have been put through the mill constantly this season, most are aware that a clattering back to Earth potentially remains just around the corner in a long and testing season.
A problematic midfield full of players often flattering to deceive or have so far failed to repay their transfer fee could be solved however by a particular wantaway Serie A star who may provide the added impetus Manchester United are clamouring for.
Radja Nainggolan has had a troubled start to life as an Inter Milan player and new reports are suggesting the midfielder is searching for a way out of the club he has spent just six months at.
Back in June, the Nerazzurri paid €24 million plus Davide Santon and exciting youngster Nicolò Zaniolo to bring the 30-year-old from Serie A rivals Roma.
Injury has so far stunted Nainggolan’s Inter career, which hasn’t been greeted with much sympathy from fans who proudly wear the black and blue.
As much as Nainggolan isn’t enamoured by the Internazionale faithful, neither is the player to enthralled with life at the San Siro.
In a leaked telephone call revealed this week, Nainggolan is surprisingly explicit about his discomfort with life in Milan, directing his ire particularly towards the supporters;
“Mamma mia, I’m making a mess here. I want to come back (inaudible). I’d give anything to be done here. It’s all right, at first I’ve always given everything on the pitch and up until now they’ve kept quiet. And soon enough, if any of those Interisti come to kiss my ass, I swear, I’ll give all of them hell."
(Translation by chiesaditotti)
Nainggolan even suggests he could find a route back to previous club Roma, at whom he spent four years and made over 200 appearances;
“I’m good enough friends with (Roma club director Francesco) Totti, maybe I will push him... but then I’ll have to cause a ruckus to be able to get out of here.”
If he is indeed planning his exit, Manchester United would do well in this upcoming January transfer window to try and procure the player who has proven extremely capable at performing at the highest tier.
Competition with Fred, Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, and Marouane Fellaini could prove extremely fruitful, as well as allowing Solsjkaer to stamp down a certain amount of authority with a pragmatic signing, though Nainggolan approaching the wrong side of 30 wouldn’t be a viable long-term option.
Inter will understandably look to recoup some of the €24 million they spent on the midfielder but if the latest revelations are anything to base, the club may not necessarily prove to be the most difficult negotiators in allowing Nainggolan passage out of the club, and the value in the current market is extremely attractive.
With added incentive, thanks to Tottenham Hotspur’s heroics, Inter have slipped into the Europa League meaning the Belgian will be eligible to play in the Champions League, in which Manchester United have progressed into the knock-out stages of the competition.
Ahead of the Boxing Day fixtures, in Serie A Inter currently stand in a respectable third, but a colossal 16 points behind league leaders Juventus, who remain unbeaten in Serie A this season. Roma, meanwhile, are potentially just one loss from sliding definitively into the bottom half of the table.
