Should Manchester United give Gerard Piqué a wide berth?
Football stats and comparison website Squawka have said that Gerard Piqué is not the answer to Manchester United’s defensive problems this season.While the Red Devils have an impressive side and have spent an obscene amount of money in a rebuilding program, the stats are not adding up and even David Moyes had a better start to the Old Trafford’s worst start in their Premier League career.
Piqué isn’t the most popular player in the Barça squad at the moment. His faux pas in the penalty area led to Real Madrid’s equaliser in the Clasico and Claudio Bravo’s unbeaten record being broken by CR7.
After bringing in Jeremy Mathieu and Thomas Vermaelen this summer, some would argue that Gerard Piqué could be surplus to requirements in the very near future.
Squawka argue that Piqué’s dip in form has coincided with Carles Puyol’s leaving and his injuries. There’s no doubting that the pair made up the backbone of Barça’s defense over the last 4 years or so and the worry is that will Piqué be able to remain switched on, as it were.
He is the type of player that most clubs would want because of his height and physicality. He is also good on the ball and quick with it. He’s a defender who can also knock in the occasional goal and has been mooted for a return to Old Trafford.
With the loss of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, what United desperately need at the back is a general and Piqué isn’t that man. Squawka say that Piqué could be a big gamble for United and the player who, at 27 years of age, should be entering the finest years of his career.
The question then is this: Should United take a gamble on a proven player who’s best years are on his doorstop and hope he comes good, or wait for a player like Mats Hummels to plug the gaps at the back?
