Who To Swap Ramsey With? by Dan Smith
Aaron Ramsey’s celebration in scoring a contender for goal of the season at Fulham spoke volumes. No cusping his ears towards his manager, no pointing to the back of his shirt to remind people his name. Instead a shrug of the shoulders and outstretched arms, telling the away fans without speaking, ‘Oh well, nothing more I can do. I think I’m worth this much, the club don’t, we will agree to disagree’.
Rambo’s not going to throw his toys out the pram, having been with us since a teenager he’ll respect us too much not to be a professional while the way his peers embraced him shows his saga hasn’t affected his popularity in the dressing room. Compare that to Sanchez 12 months ago!
Going into the international break, our board can focus on off-field issues, where the next 2 weeks should be spent on deciding how to get value out of a horrible situation. Do we allow a talent we developed leave for free next summer or do we take a reduced fee in the New Year just for the sake of something’s better then nothing? Is 15-20 million, really worth helping make a top 4 rival stronger? While many feel the midfielder is overrated I believe those in the the top 6 will view this as a potential bargain.
Last January, Man United being willing to do a swap deal proved a compromise. It was the only way we gained anything out of a headache we caused ourselves. To not learn from that mistake means we deserve everything we get, we continue to be the side most consistent with allowing deals to expire.
So let’s play a game. Pretend you work for Stan Kroenke and you have been tasked with finding the best solution, given you are not willing to add 200,000 to the wage bill. Like Alexis, our only option is to find someone to exchange, a direct replacement or a talent to make another role stronger. The criteria is to search as many Premiership squads has you deem fit and offer candidates to switch with our CM.
This is subjective but be realistic, there’s no point selecting Hazard or Aguero. Alternatively consider which teams Ramsey would refuse to join, he has the power after all.
Man City – Gundogan
The Champions have such a squad, they have dead wood you could cherry pick. The only issue is, for someone who doesn’t always make the bench, his wage demands would be deemed out of the question. You don’t allow a contract to run down due to not wanting to pay an extravagant sum, just to end up doing exactly that for the type of midfielder we already boast.
Some would argue we did that with Mikataryan but the difference in that situation is we were recouping funds by Sanchez going the other way.
Liverpool – Sturridge
I remember a backlash on this site for suggesting we should tempt Liverpool with a 20 million offer for their striker. For a man, when fit, who could offer 15/-20 goals a season, I argued for such a sum it was worth the gamble. He’s a better natural finisher than Welbeck (another soon-to-be free agent). His valuation goes up every time he scores from the bench and once again Klopp is including him in his plans. If we have to replace Welbeck anyway, this kills two birds with one stone. Ramsey would no doubt be open to reuniting with the Ox.
Chelsea – Lofus-Cheek
This could work for all parties. About to be a father of twins, Ramsey might not want to uproot his family therefore being open to another London club (Spurs are out of the question). The Blues wouldn’t put up a fight to keep Loftus-Cheek. We don’t know how good this youngster will turnout but if you’re losing a player for nothing, isn’t it worth a gamble rather then getting a sum of money you can’t do much with?
Fabregas
I written before how a return to the Emirates for Fabregas could be an option. We were always our ex-captain’s first choice when he returned to this country from Barcelona. The irony being that Arsene Wenger ignored a buy back clause as he backed Ramsey and Wilshere to be our future. With his contract up in the summer, it really would be a straight swap with no money needing to change hands. Some gooners will feel why go back for a man in his thirties but is he a better option then the man originally asked to fill his boots? Not the kind of move I see Emery making. He might see re-signing someone who would divide the fan base as a distraction for team spirit.
West Ham – Declan Rice
The Hammers might soon pay for taking advantage of their defender’s love for the club. Where they have a history of paying huge wages for average talent, they think the centre back will take a small pay rise based on his dreams of playing for the Hammers. Along with choosing which nation to represent, the teenager is mentally conflicted. So soon David Gold/Sullivan will be in a pickle that we can identify with. Rice is viewed as a future world class talent, this would give us a head start in securing his services. Unlike Wilshere however, Ramsey’s not basing his next destination on re-establishing his career, he’ll believe he belongs at a higher level . The only thing the London Stadium can offer, is owners who will better his wages while allowing him to remain in the capital.
Man United – centre back
There’s a long list of players Jose has fallen out with but that might soon not be an issue. No matter who’s happy or not at Old Trafford, they would all be highly paid and want the same. We have long been linked with Smalling and Jones, rumours that don’t go away. Are they better then what we have? Not to the point where they should be earning more, if they were to meet their potential, they would have. Emery is also the latest to put a big ethos in his back four being able to build from the back, a skill that has cost Smalling his England spot. Emery is showing he’s willing to coach that into his squad but given the chance will eventually want someone natural in that area. Is Eric Bailey worth a gamble if your not paying anything? United paid 30 million for him so must have seen something. By all accounts he was a different player in La Liga.
Martial
A possibility many readers have suggested but how realistic? For a start United would demand lots of money on top of Ramsey. That might scupper any deal right away. While we are on the look out for width, would Stan Kroenke pay the fee and wages for a winger who’s not consistent? The youngster will also know he will have interest in Europe, for commercial reasons alone,. Having not enjoyed his time in England, are we appealing enough for him not to want to try elsewhere abroad ?
Play along, anyone you would exchange Rambo for? Have I missed an English club he might want to join? Anyone there we could pinch?
No right and wrong answers, give opinions in comments below….
Dan Smith