Back in September, Manchester United made 38 million Euro bid on Santos superstar Neymar. The star refused as he had promised to remain with his Brazilian club until after the 2014 World Cup.
However, with the January Transfer looming, it is possible that the 21-year old could be making his move to Europe. He has stated interest in Chelsea, Paris St. Germaine, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Real Madrid.
The move to Manchester United is currently the least likely as Neymar has stated an interest in joining Brazilian Oscar at Chelsea, but Manchester United is still an option and could give the young player incredible opportunities.
Manchester United is loaded with tremendous experience across the board. Paul Scholes was once one of the best midfielders in the world; Shinji Kawaga has been an expert in the midfield this season; Ryan Giggs is a legend. Those are only three of a plethora of brilliant players that Manchester United employs at the midfield who could help the youngster develop his precocious playmaking skills. Others would include Nani, Danny Welbeck, and Wayne Rooney. The latter was once the main striker, but has been moved back into a more playmaking-attacking role with Robin Van Persie. Rooney is currently the face of team and his current role may be the role Neymar occupies in the future.
Up top, Javier Hernandez and Robin Van Persie are the main strikers for this team and either would form a tremendous one-two punch with the Brazilian star. Van Persie is in his 30s and likely on the decline in a few years. Even though he was the big investment for this club in the summer, he only has a few more years as a starter for Man U and could easily be the replaced by Neymar.
However, another issue immediately arises. With all the quality throughout the roster, who gets less playtime to accommodate Neymar? Sir Alex Ferguson is not going to invest over 30 million Euros on a player that will start on the bench. The here and now must be considered. The Sun stated back in September that Rooney's position might be in jeopardy, but his new role makes him an established piece for the next few years. Van Persie is certainly not going anywhere after the summer investment. He is also in fine form with five goals in seven matches (not including UCL goals). That would lend the credence that Neymar's addition could spell the end of Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez's tenure at the Old Trafford. Hernandez had 10 goals in 18 matches for Man U last season but only has one in four matches thus far. He has been better on the international stage for Mexico of late, but that success has not transferred to his form in the Premier League. At just 24 years of age, there is certainly room for improvement and tons of upside, but with Neymar in the fold at just 21 years of age, Chicharito may be the spare piece in the puzzle.
This is further supported when one considers reports of Ferguson being interested in 16-year old Croatian Alen Halilovic. Halilovic is being considered the next Messi for his looks and his movement with the ball. He is still seven or eight years away from making a major impact, but when he is ready, Neymar would be in the prime of his career and the two would be an unstoppable duo. If this is really Man U's interest, then Hernandez's future would surely be at an end for Man U. The wisest thing at this point would be to sell him high while he is still young and has upside rather than wait for him to continue faltering and watching his value drop exponentially.
The Neymar saga will continue until the transfer window ends in January when it will be decided if he is going to hold his word with Santos or make his jump to the big leagues in Europe.
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