Handicapping others' transfers: Ronaldo, Bale, Rooney, Cavani and more

Edinson Cavani

Most of the news out of the Etihad has been about departures rather than additions. Kolo Touré, as previously mentioned has left for Anfield, and Carlos Tévez has been shipped out to Juventus.

Of course, Mancini is long gone, so we’ll have to see how well Pellegrini manages. Between now and August, I’m sure there will be more activity as the club seeks to overcome its apparent championship hangover from 2011-12.

At this point, they have shown only moderate interest in the likes of Pepe Reina, Robert Lewandowski, and Mario Gomez. Of these, only Lewandowski strikes me as the kind of player who could redefine a club’s ambitions. With Dortmund refusing to let him join Bayern, Man City might be the next-most likely landing for him. Chelsea’s plumping for Cavani, Man United is eyeing Ronaldo, Real Madrid is focusing on Bale, and Barcelona has added Neymar. There are few other clubs with the resources or allure to land him.

Never underestimate a club that throws its money around like City. They might be most vulnerable to impending FFP regulations, but I wouldn’t put it past them to engage in an orgy of spending before then.

Threat level: Moderate/high. They’ll certainly look to replace Touré and Tévez, and that’s just for starters. They may look to add some firepower to the midfield. With Gareth Barry at 32 and in the last year of his contract, for example, and with Samir Nasri’s personality overwhelming his performance, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the club move for another midfielder.

Manchester United

This may sound preposterous, but hear me out: Ronaldo moving to Old Trafford could work out quite well for us. There’s only one ball to be played, and I just don’t see Ronaldo and van Persie sharing very well. Ronaldo could to to van Persie what van Persie did to Rooney—or van Persie could to Ronaldo what he did to Rooney: make him superfluous (let the him serve as a flexible reference to van Persie and Ronaldo).

Even the venerated Alex Ferguson couldn’t keep the two content, and Rooney looks set to leave as a result. How will David Moyes, potentially out of his depth already, massage those two egos? Can he convince van Persie that an £80m signing of Ronaldo means that the two men are to be equal partners? Who will take PKs? I’m not sure who would be more petulant in the face of a potentially tense relationship. On one hand, they might both go on to score 25 goals. On the other, the whole situation could implode. I’ll cheer for the latter.

They do look set to bring in Thiago from Barcelona, which might be more important to us because it would all but confirm that Fabregas is staying put. He’s a nice player and all, but he doesn’t fill a glaring need (not that Man United has many). He’d join a midfield already stocked with young players (and Giggs).

I’d worry more about Moyes bringing in Baines or Fellaini more than I worry about the other names linked to Man United, as these players could do more to strengthen an already-strong Man United.

Threat level: Moderate. As alluded to before, I wonder about Moyes’ ability to manage the pressure, with or without Ronaldo. Man United finished leagues ahead of any other team in the Premier League, so it’s not like they need to sign anyone. Still, they’re unlikely to rest on their laurels.

Summation

A lot can happen between now and 31 August, but if we sign the players we’ve been linked to most often—Higuain, Cesar, perhaps Wanyama or Fellaini—and if our current players build on their own growth from the last months of the 2012-13 campaign, I like our chances against anyone in the Premier League.