Onlookers can read this news in several ways.
Manchester United looked to be leading the chase for Barcelona star Pedro all summer. But the fact that his release clause was set and United didn’t trigger it for so long, set alarm bells ringing in several areas.
Chelsea have reportedly since stolen in on the deal and The Guardian writes this afternoon:
Chelsea set to sign Barcelona’s Pedro after triggering £21.2m buy-out clause
• Barça forward expected in London for talks and medical
• Manchester United were confident they had agreed deal
Manchester United reportedly dropped all interest in signing the player today. Was this to save face or because they genuninely didn’t want him? The same report in The Guardian says that Louis van Gaal:
…is understood to have sanctioned his club’s withdrawal from negotiations with Barcelona
We believe that, with such a shortage of talent in their squad in the right wing berth, the idea of United haggling over a few million in a very reasonable fee, for Pedro seems ridiculous.
The feeling we get is that Manchester United weren’t that keen on taking the player in the first place. They weren’t 100 percent sure. Because, if they had been, then surely they would have got this deal over the line much earlier.
But now Chelsea seems to be his most likely destination and the rumour mills will move on to who else United might sign this month. Surely they will add another creative talent to the squad before the end of the window.
We feel that, in the end, Chelsea have got a good player but not a great one. And we would certainly question the wisdom of selecting Pedro ahead of Willian on the right side of the midfield.
Pedro has won The World Cup and European Championship with Spain as well as three Champions League trophies and 5 La Liga titles with Barcelona. But his inability to get into the side, as a starter, over the last couple of years has forced him to look elsewhere for regular football.