Paul Scholes has been out in India playing in, and helping lift the profile of, Premier Futsal. The Manchester United legend has been joined by other football greats, including Ryan Giggs, in the event which showcases Futsal in India.
Sport Witness got the chance to speak with Scholes and asked which Premier League signing has impressed him the most, to which he replied: “I think Gundogan is a really impressive player. I’ve seen a lot of him at Borussia Dortmund. I think he has a lot of injury problems, which could be a problem.
“If he can stay fit, I think he can be a fantastic player. I also think he is a great value for the money Manchester City paid for him. I think he is a bargain.”
Manchester City paid Borussia Dortmund around £20m for Ilkay Gundogan earlier this summer, after a transfer saga which seemed to continue for years.
On Manchester United’s recruit from Germany, Scholes says he hasn’t seen Gundogan’s former teammate Henrikh Mkhitaryan play too many times to form an opinion.
“I haven’t seen too much of him. I think he is a good player.”
Manchester United were always expected to recruit heavily this summer, and the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic got everyone buzzing, but Scholes believes the Swedish star will have to do much more than he did at Paris-Saint Germain, as it was easier for him to score goals in France’s Ligue 1.
He added: “We don’t know about Zlatan. He is 34 and probably going to play only for a year. Okay, he is a fit lad.
“I think with Ibrahimovic it is, he was playing in a team of PSG and they created a lot of chances. It was easy for him to score goals in that league.
“This Manchester United team isn’t as good as the PSG team. It might be in time to come. He is going to have to do more for himself in the Manchester United team. More than he did at PSG.”
Jose Mourinho is doing his best this summer to make the Manchester United squad as strong as possible, and by the end of the window, Ibrahimovic should find himself surrounded by players who are every inch the calibre of what he had in France.
Scholes could be correct about Gundogan to Manchester City being the best piece of business this summer, but that all depends on the German international staying fit.
Dipesh Agarwal.
