by Blue Blood » Mon Jul 14, 2014 9:19 am
Wow, surprised at the general negativity surrounding the potential signing of Mangala.
Mangala has EVERYTHING needed to be a big big player in world football, hell he is already doing the business for Porto, who are a very very accomplished side.
Lets face it the big issue in the minds of the people is mainly over the high sum being paid, I get that, but it can't be helped. He is owned by 3 or 4 different parties, all wanting a sum, all valuing him differently. This is a pain of a deal and probably the main reason why he hasn't been snapped up by a real/barca already. It's just a massive pain.
Putting the fee to one side, and looking at the player himself, i get why he is so highly rated and so highly sought after. He possesses all the attributes you can't train, He's big, powerful and extremely fast. He is aerially spot on and aggressive in the tackle, In terms of ball playing, he is extremely adept at passing the ball out of the defence too. Where he is questionable, is in his decision making, this is flagged as his only real weakness but one which will be cured purely through experience. Putting him alongside the experience of Kompany likely will accelerate his evolution as a player.
In terms of risk, this signing actually has very little despite on first glance, given the fee, it looking highly risky. Given his raw attributes, it wouldn't be unfair to say Mangala is built for the premier league and with the seasons of experience he has, i'd expect him to hit the ground running... but probably not be a true £32 million man for a season or two. This said much like the rags signing of Shaw, while the initial fee looks high, when dividing the fee over the length of his contract and the possible extensions, £32 million on a player who could start for the next 7 seasons+ looks a sound investment, especially if the potential is realised. In both the case of Shaw and Mangala, if both never progressed, walking in the door, they are still great players, the question mark is on whether they will take the leap from great to world class. Jury is out on that, but it doesn't make for a transfer gamble.
Make no mistake, this signing is key to our chances of retaining the title and key to our European progress in the next few years. If he does what is expected and Vince stays fit, we could have the best centre back pairing in world football for the next 3-5 seasons easily.
Worth a punt i'd say.
