In recent days, Manchester United means all about the retaining of Wayne Rooney and the possible move of Spanish sensation Thiago Alcantra. What is remaining unnoticed is that there may be a silent move of an upcoming star, Aleksandar Dragovic.
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Currently playing for Swiss side FC Basel, he is being linked with a host of Premier League clubs, apart from Inter Milan, if Skysports.com are to be believed. Though the 22-year old defender has two years of contract remaining with the current club, that hasn’t stopped him from catching the eyes of Everton, Fulham or Southampton. According to Jamie Sanderson of Metro, Arsenal are also eyeing for him.
But who is this fellow that so many clubs are craving for? Born in Austria to Serbian parents, Dragovic began his football career playing for the youth team at Austria Vienna. He was promoted to the senior side in 2008 and went on to make 67 Austrian Bundesliga appearances. He also featured in 15 Europa League matches and was capped nine times by Austria. In 2011, the then 19-year old Serbian was signed by Basel, eventually making 111 appearances so far including the Champions League, and helping the side to triumph their 16th League title.
Nemanja Vidić, now 32 and Rio Ferdinand, now 34, have served the Red Devils for quite a long time with great fits. But now is the time for them to assign new lads so that they can take a sip of chilled beer after retiring. Vidic, being a role model of so many Serbians, is no exception to Dragovic. He told Italian newspaper Tutto Mercato Web (via the Express):
“I hope to retrace the steps and the career of my model Nemanja Vidic of Manchester United.”
Rumours suggest that David Moyes is a fan of the player, and Everton were in a pole position to grab him. But for the time being, it seems that Moyes is going to unveil him at Old Trafford. Though it is very early time to speculate about this, but as this says, where there is smoke, there must be fire.
Voted as the best Defender (Swiss league) in 2012 by the Swiss Golden Player Awards, Dragovic at this age has a strong mind to defend and the player usually keeps calm in tight situations. So can he be an ideal replacement for Vidic? Well, only time can tell that, but Dragovic has certainly a lot of experience and if brought it, he can only get better.