Dimitar Berbatov believes Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti would be a “great” addition to Manchester United’s midfield.
Verratti shone during PSG’s 2-0 victory over United at Old Trafford in the Champions League Round of 16 earlier this week.
Will Verratti be a Man Utd target this summer? Five key things to know…
- Verratti, who has made 262 appearances for PSG, has been linked with a move to Barcelona in the past but is contracted until 2021.
- United could be in need of a new central midfielder in the summer with Ander Herrera’s contract set to expire.
- Herrera has been lining up in a midfield three with Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as caretaker manager.
- Summer signing Fred has failed to hit the ground running at Old Trafford but could compete for a place in the midfield next term.
- Verratti has failed to score and provided just one assist in 23 games across all competitions this season.
Manchester United now have an uphill battle to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League and face the daunting prospect of coming up against Verratti and Co. again next month.
But Berbatov, who won two Premier League titles with United, believes Verratti would be an ideal addition to his former club.
“Marco Veratti was very impressive in the centre of the park for PSG,” Berbatov told Betfair.
“What I like about him is that his first thought is always to go forwards, but if that’s not on, he’s happy just to keep the ball, controlling the tempo and almost putting the other team to sleep.
“The Italian is an unbelievable talent; he reminds me of Xavi and Iniesta in many ways. He’d be great at United next to Nemanja Matic in midfield, allowing the Serbian to do the dirty work while he controlled the game. Can’t see PSG selling though!”
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Berbatov calls out “ridiculous” Solskjaer critics after PSG defeat
The loss to PSG was Solskjaer’s first defeat in 12 games since taking over from Jose Mourinho in December.
The Norwegian has won 10 of his 12 matches in charge and has even been tipped to be given the full-time job when his interim spell comes to an end this summer.
And Berbatov wasn’t pleased to see some onlookers criticising Solskjaer after the midweek defeat.
He added: “Paris Saint-Germain are a great team and deserved to win on the night but I didn’t think United were that bad and some of the comments about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer ‘being found out’ were ridiculous.
“He has got them into the top four – something no-one thought was possible this season – but they lose one game to a team full of superstars and people start talking sh*t again.
“It’s the way of the world these days but everyone who understands football knows what a good job Ole has done.”
The post Marco Verratti touted as Man Utd’s missing midfield ingredient appeared first on Squawka News.
From Squawka News http://bit.ly/2TQMboh
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