For sometime at the opening of the summer transfer window, Manchester United flirted with the idea of acquiring the services of Thiago Alcantara- the highly rated Spanish U21 International Captain and then Barcelona FC midfielder. The desire to sign the midfielder grow from a state of flirtation to one of earnest intent after his impressive showing at the 2013 edition of the UEFA U21 Championship, where his performances earned him the award for being player of the tournament. Thiago was destined to be a Manchester United player, or, at least so I thought. Up stepped newly crowned Champions League winners Bayern Munich at the speed of a Moscow Locomotive, to usurped Man Utd's overtures for the player, eventually completing a move worth £22million.
At face value, it might seem that Thiago gravitated towards the Bavarian club based on the mutual affinity shared between himself and their newly appointted manager Josep 'Pep' Guardiola who had given him his first team debut at Barca. But, what does this signify forn Man Utd?
Is the sale of Thiago to Bayern from under the nose of Manchester United setting the precedent for transfer dealings at the Manchester Club under new manager David Moyes? In my estimation if Sir Alex Ferguson (SAF) had still been the manager there was no way he would have allowed him to move to another club if he wanted he as badly as the reports suggested. Man Utd under SAF were notorious for getting the players they wanted.
David Moyes, until now, had not had a job at the pinnacle of football -thus, the aura of respect which surrounds him is lackluster in comparison to SAF. This does not in anyway mean that Moyes is not a good manager, for in my opinion he is very good ( to SAF too) but at the summit of global football management being a winner with a proven track record is what counts. Though Manchester United in and of themselves are perennial contenders for all trophies for which they compete, players look at the pedigree of the coach and not always that of the club. Granted some might do the converse.
Only time will tell if this is a tell tale sign of things to come, but ,one thing is for certain if I was a Manchester United fan, i'd be worried. Maybe I'm over analyzing the situation but perhaps not.
Can Moyes command the same level of respect as SAF did? Yes he can, but not immediately, it will take time for him to build is own aura like Fergie did himself but will it be to the detriment of the Manchester United's dealings in the transfer market during the interim?
