Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has reportedly told chief executive Ed Woodward that he wants competition for current regular right-back Antonio Valencia, and has identified who he wants to sign in January.
Feyenoord defender Rick Karsdorp caught the eye of the Portuguese in the Dutch team’s Europa League ties with the Red Devils in the group stage earlier this season and has become Mourinho’s number one target when next month’s window re-opens.
Karsdorp is ten years the junior of Valencia, who has been one of the most consistent performers in United’s eleven this season and has undoubtedly been one of Europe’s best.
However, there is a significantly weak back-up for Valencia should the Ecuadorian become injured or suspended, then Mourinho’s options are looking severely limited.
Thusly, if the acquisition of Karsdorp become viable, United should move quickly for the Dutchman.
Karsdorp is valued at approximately £15 million, and the Mirror have claimed that United will test Feyenoord with a bid to that value in January.
There have also been reports linking Arsenal and Bayern Munich with Karsdorp, with his departure within the next six months looking imminent.
Feyenoord, therefore, may want to inflate his market value, but it looks like the Red Devils could have a very talented player on their hands.
As the modern game becomes more reliant on attacking full-backs like Marcelo, Dani Alves and Hector Bellerin, the fullback becomes a valuable commodity.
And that’s exactly what Karsdorp is at this point in his career, an attacking full back that will help you go forward and get crosses into the box. Since this is his style, his strengths naturally fit this type of player. One of his main strengths as a player is unsurprisingly his ability to whip a good cross into the box.
Besides his crossing and passing ability, Karsdorp is also very composed and doesn’t try to do more than he needs to when defending.
Another strength that Karsdorp has that is tough to teach in a player is pace. One of the main reasons why Karsdorp is able to deliver high-quality crosses is that he can create a lot of space for himself with his pace.
He also uses his pace to set up passes and make runs behind the opposing defence. His pace makes him able to contribute as much as he does to Feyenoord’s attack.