Juan Guillermo Cuadrado shot to fame during the WC for his pace, his dribbling skills and his celebrations after scoring. He has played for some time now and has been noticed, but the upswing in his nation’s fortunes in footballing terms means that he has moved into the buying lists of top clubs now. He played a role on the right-wing for Colombia, but he can play anywhere on the right, owing to the strength of his right foot. He was effective when deployed on the left last season, but versatility will not be frowned upon by Louis van Gaal, as Cuadrado will get more chances to play should he settle in quickly.
Manchester United has been in the market for replacements for most of their players, who seem to have lost the spark that had enabled them to shine under Sir Alex Ferguson. Their players seemed to have lost faith in their abilities as last season dragged on, sadly, and the wingers kept peppering the opposition box with crosses which couldn’t be converted, until David Moyes nailed himself to one and ended this shoddy tenure of self-doubt and failure.
Nani has been linked with other clubs, and United fans have had no qualms about his possible departure, as he hasn’t been able to live up to his initial promise. It was always a tough ask to follow in the footsteps of his fellow Portuguese teammate Cristiano Ronaldo and he veered inconsistently between remarkable and mediocre performances throughout his time at United. His replacement on the right wing, Valencia, was clearly out of his depth last season, as he didn’t look good enough to be playing for United. Zaha, the young apprentice, wasn’t given a look-in under Moyes (David, obviously), as United’s right flank was susceptible to a number of opposition attacks last season.
This season, Louis van Gaal has opted to adopt a 3-5-2 formation in addition to the usual 4-4-2 formation, to add muscle to the midfield, as last season; the midfield was static and was overrun very easily. The 3-5-2 formation adds pressure to the role of the wing-back, who needs to be defensively and attackingly strong to handle the entire flank on his own. Plus, the player will need to have high stamina to maintain the same work rate throughout the duration of the game. Except for Rafael, who is still too defensive, no United right-sided midfielder seems to have defensive and attacking properties in the correct measure to be able to shunt up and down the flank with ease and shake up the opposition, which is where Cuadrado could be of most use, since he has the necessary work rate to perform in the highly physical Premier League.
He will have top players like Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney to support him and an easy style of play, which will help him adjust faster to the United style of play. Buying him would bring in a consistent player who will be hungry to perform and will be an asset to the club.
FC Barcelona is also competing to get Cuadrado, but for the player, a move to United would be a better choice, as he will get games for the first-team. We have seen a disillusioned Alexis Sanchez leave FC Barcelona owing to a lack of playing time, and Cuadrado would do well not to go down the same path. Plus, United need a versatile, pacy player like Cuadrado, who could bring back the “Ronaldo Era” at Manchester United again.