Manchester United have already had a myriad of good news over the first month of the summer transfer window. The club has landed three stellar young players, in defender Phil Jones, winger Ashley Young and goalkeeper David de Gea.
But, despite the haul, Sir Alex Ferguson isn't done with his wheeling and dealing yet, as United have yet to find the playmaking midfielder to be the heir apparent to retired veteran Paul Scholes. The club has been linked to everyone from Alexis Sanchez (even though he's played little central midfield) to Javier Pastore, but the one name that continues popping up is Inter Milan megastar Wesley Sneijder.
United's interest in the 27-year-old Dutchman's services has been well-documented in the last few years. Ferguson showed an interest in the midfielder when he moved from Real Madrid to Milan two seasons ago, and that interest was renewed back in January, when Sneijder was still unhappy with his role at Milan from the first half of the season under Rafa "It's everyone's fault but mine" Benitez.
Now, that interest has turned into a full-on campaign to bring the midfield dynamo to Old Trafford, as Ferguson has been pondering what to include in a bid for the maestro's services.
Numerous United coaches and former players, ranging from assistant manager Rene Meulensteen to recently retired defender Gary Neville have voiced their support for bringing the sublime playmaker to the club, but can the Red Devils actually get him, or should they give up on what some see as little more than a wild goose chase?
If the player had it his way, United would give up the ghost.
According to a Mirror Football report, Sneijder would prefer to stay at Inter, only leaving if the club actually agreed to sell him.
Per his statements:
"I would like to remain," Sneijder said in an interview in July's Italian issue of Vanity Fair magazine."I have marvellous team-mates. (Inter captain Javier) Zanetti has an extraordinary character, he has kept us together even at times when the morale was low.
"My wife Yolanthe and I love Inter, the Italian fans and Italy.
"Of course, if the club decided to sell me, I will go wherever they tell me to go. But I would be disappointed.
"We have felt so good here that I would miss the city of Milan and Inter.
"But football is like that. When I was sold from Real Madrid to Inter, I would have preferred to have remained in Spain.
"Whatever will be, will be."
While that certainly can't inspire much confidence for United, it also doesn't completely squelch their chances of making a deal happen here.
Sure, it's going to make it much tougher for Ferguson to convince Inter, who are none too keen on the idea of giving up a player who is playing at such an elite level at the height of his powers, to give the Dutchman up. Sure, if Sneijder doesn't want to come, it increases the chances that he struggles upon his arrival, or goes into a tremendous funk as a result.
But the fact is, he never said he would resist a move out of Inter; he simply said that if he were calling the shots, he'd stay put. That means that while it's not going to be easy (especially if Ferguson was planning on pulling an Arsene Wenger and lowballing the club), if he makes a strong offer, he's got a good chance of landing the talented midfielder, who would likely enjoy the chance to take the pitch at Old Trafford, once he got through the emotional goodbye at the San Siro.
United have known from the get-go that landing the talented Dutchman would be a monumental task, and his statements have done nothing to change that fact. They're going to have to put in the extra legwork and convince Inter to sell knowing that the player doesn't actively want to leave.
In the end, I still don't see Sneijder coming to United. He's never been crazy about leaving Inter, and the club is wont to sell. But, at the same time, if United were willing to keep chasing the talented playmaker before he said he wanted to stay in Italy, his statements shouldn't dissuade them from the hunt.
They can still get him, as the club is still open to selling, even if when the dust settles, I see him staying put at this point in the summer.
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