Man United reigniting their interest in 22-year-old World Cup star would help them revive their form

Why Manchester United must revive their interest in Aleksandr Golovin

As per the Metro, Manchester United were among a host of Premier League clubs who were interested in signing Russian star Aleksandr Golovin. However, a move to the Premier League never materialised and the 22-year-old joined French club AS Monaco instead.

Aleksandr Golovin, 22, starred in the World Cup for Russia, guiding the hosts to the quarter-finals. Prior to the impressive World Cup campaign, he had a good season with CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League.

However, it hasn’t exactly gone according to the scripts for Aleksandr Golovin following his summer move to Monaco.

Golovin has played just nine times for Monaco across all competitions, managing just an assist. Injuries have hampered his career so far in France as Monaco continue to languish in the relegation zone even after the appointment of new manager, Thierry Henry.

Despite the Russian ace having struggled to adapt to the Ligue 1, should Manchester United rekindle interest in him when the transfer window reopens? The certainly should.

Manchester United endured a chastening 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City at the Etihad last weekend that demonstrated the gulf of class between both the Mancunian clubs. While the Red Devils have recovered from a torrid start to the new season, they are miles away from challenging for the title.

Unless Jose Mourinho strengthens his squad in January, United’s hopes of finishing in the top four look very slim.

Strengthening the defence has to be Mourinho’s priority but he needs to also bolster his options in the midfield. United’s midfielders have underperformed this season, with Nemanja Matic clearly struggling with fatigue at the moment.

Matic has often slowed down the pace of the game but his biggest weakness this season has been his clear inability to screen United’s shaky defence.

Pace has never been the Serbian’s forte but failure to do the job for which he was signed last summer should spark concern for Mourinho. So, Jose would be wise to replace Matic with Aleksandr Golovin.

A technically-gifted midfielder, Golovin is extremely versatile as he can play on either flank, in a No.10 role and also as a deep-lying playmaker.

He is an excellent operator of the ball, with his distribution skills often catching the eye. He is nimble-footed, tenacious, creative and has the vision to pick out a pass.

The Russian is a very quick mover of the ball and excels in creating space for himself and his teammates as well. Not only is Golovin an asset going forward but also a brilliant reader of the game who uses his intelligence and reflexes to break the opposition’s play.

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At 22, Golovin clearly has all the time to revive his career which has stuttered a bit at Monaco. Manchester United should table a bid in January for the Russian international as he would give Mourinho’s side the creativity from central midfield which they have been clearly lacking this season.