Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is standing at the precipice in his time at Old Trafford, with his contract up at the end of next season, and there being no deal on the table this summer. He’s been linked with a number of sides in the Italian Serie A, which is a division that favour ageing strikers given the slower pace of the game, so could the Dutchman make the move ahead of the new campaign?
Van Persie has had a disappointing 2015, scoring only two league goals this year for the Red Devils. He was also relinquished of his penalty-taking duties by manager Louis van Gaal after missing a spot-kick in the 1-0 defeat against West Bromwich Albion earlier this month, and admitted in January that his future is in the air, saying: “It is not up to me. For the moment I am staying here for 18 months. That is it really. I can’t look into the future. I don’t know what is going to happen after that. We shall have to wait and see.”
Italian Serie A champions Juventus are one of a few sides interested in the Dutchman, as the division is perfectly suited for technical players lacking on the physical side. They have former United striker Carlos Tevez as their main man in attack, who is the same age as Van Persie, and has enjoyed the best season of his playing career, so a move to Italy certainly isn’t the end for Van Persie if he did sign.
Injuries have blighted his time at the club ever since he fired United to their last Premier League title in 2012/13, and given he turns 32 in August, his time could well be up. The club would rather cash in on him, and use his sale to fund another striker coming in to boost their title challenge in 2015/16, rather than keep a misfiring forward for another term and lose him for nothing.
Manchester United are expected to spend big this summer, and have already bolstered their attack with prolific Dutch forward Memphis Depay, who can play anywhere along the front line. They have an ageing set of strikers on the books, and are sure to bring in at least one man who can score them 20+ in the league. Van Persie has put in one too many disappointing overall performances in games to convincie his manager that he’s worth keeping, so will the Dutchman make the move to the Italian Serie A this summer?
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