Reports: Barcelona receive huge boost in pursuit of Manchester United superstar

What’s the story?

Manchester United’s superstar midfielder Ander Herrera has been on Barcelona’s radar for quite a while and it appears that they’ve got a hug boost in their pursuit. The Metro are reporting that United may consider a sale if the Catalan club bid somewhere in the region of £60 million for the Basque. We’d earlier reported following news in Metro that Barcelona had identified Herrera as a plan B in case their pursuit of Marco Verratti fell through and this is a concrete step in that direction.

In case didn’t know

Barcelona have a whole host of issues to contend with next season, and nothing is bigger than addressing the decadance of their once mighty midfield. While Marco Verratti is seen by many as a natural replacement for Xavi (including by the man himself), the Italian’s current employer’s Paris Saint-Germain are holding out desperately to make sure their very own superstar doesn’t leave, especially to a direct Champions League rival.

This is where Ander Herrera comes in, and having already coached him for Athletic Bilbao, Ernesto Valverde will be keen on a reunion.

The heart of the matter

Barcelona had been reported to have set aside £35 million for the combative Basque midfielder as they seek to add some bite and steel to the centre of their park and even though Manchester United have almost doubled that price, the Catalans will see the willingness of United to name a price – as high as it – as a boost. Willingness to name a price generally indicates a willingness (however slight) to sell.

Herrera has only one year left on his contract, and if the Basque is showing the least hesistancy in signing a new one, United may sieze this opportunity to make the most of a potential sale

Video

Here’s Herrera shutting down the Premier League’s most dangerous playmaker –

Want a man for a job? Ander is your man!

Author’s Take

Ander Herrera has been seen as captaincy material, the closest United have gotten to recapture the spirit of Roy Keane, and it will be a massively unpopular move amongst the Old Trafford faithful if the hierarchy approve the decision to sell – whatever the price.Jose Mourinho, too, would not be inclined to sell his star midfielder considering how highly he thinks of the Basque – he even admitted recently how he’d been thoroughly impressed with Herrera’s presence of mind in pulling Henrikh Mkhitaryan into the box and away from the halfway line for a corner in the Europa League final (the Armenian was on a yellow, and he’d have risked another if Ajax mounted a swift counter) and has used him for some tough jobs – including man-marking Eden Hazard expertly in United’s 2-0 home win over champions Chelsea.

It’s unlikely that he’d want such a trusted member of his squad to leave and if it were upto him it’s unlikely that Herrera will line up in anything other than Manchester United red come next season.