According to the Daily Mail, the formidable Benfica centre back, Ezequiel Garay, is on the verge of signing a contract with Manchester United. With Nemanja Vidic leaving, and Rio Ferdinand’s possible retirement, David Moyes’ squad will be left with pretty inexperienced centre backs such as Evans, Smalling and Jones, so it is clear that the club must bring reinforcements.
Garay was United’s target last summer too, but the clubs didn’t agree on the price that they’d be willing to trade the player for.
The price tag is the same, 17 million euro, which is the minimum fee release clause. However, United will probably settle on that price this summer, because Moyes is desperate to sign a good defender – some would even say that he is going to panic-buy almost all of the available players during the summer.
Garay is probably the best available central defender on the market for United, and it is expected that Moyes will do everything needed to land him.
Garay’s physical presence is immense, on both sides of the field. Playing in Spain for Santander a few years ago he was the best scorer among defenders in the league, and a constant threat from the corner and free kicks.
Also, his technical ability gives him a dimension that most central defenders don’t have – a possibility to take part in the organization of attacks and bring safety when opponents apply pressing on the last line of defense.
That ability makes him comparable to Rio Ferdinand, who also has good technique and who can be a great passer who will start a dangerous attack.
All being considered, Garay would probably be best possible fit into the Moyes’ squad. He maybe won’t be the absolute perfect fit, but considering his abilities and the situation on the transfer market, he is “the must-buy” in the next transfer window.
The previous time that Manchester contacted Benfica about Garay, they tried to lower the price for him, but they weren’t able to do that. It is pretty sure that now the price is non-negotiable, it is 17 million euro which is the minimum fee release clause, and Moyes will, reportedly, settle for that.
All major British portals wrote about this possible transfer, so it is very likely that it will happen in the summer – we give it about 80% probability.
