Should Manchester United pick up Quagliarella?
Everyday I open up Google News, and I run my usual searches: Bayern Munich (just so I can get my cousin’s nagging of my back) and of course, Man Utd & Manchester United. I have to run both spellings just in case; we don’t want to miss anything big, like this stroke of genius from the rumor mill?!!However amongst the usual babble about Tevez, Torres and the above-mentioned story about our Viking Gudjohnsen I found an actual piece of professional journalism. Rare as they have become thanks to the likes TribalFootball, this piece actually made its way to the “What the Papers Say” section of ManUtd.com.
Fabio Quagliarella is the lad’s name, he is co-owned by Sampdoria and Udinese and has been tipped as the newest addition to Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad for next season. We’ll figure out how to enunciate his name later, for the moment, what we need to know is this:
First and foremost, Quagliarella, 23 years young, struck a pair of sublime goals from distance to give the Azzurri a 2-0 away win last week in a Euro 2008 qualifying win against Lithuania. He has made 35 league appearances for Sampdoria last season, scoring 13 goals.
One particularly memorable strike came in a game against Chievo at the end of May when he found the back of the net with an audacious hit from 40 yards out. Another came against Reggina, when he converted a textbook scissor kick from a corner, and still managed to land on his feet. It was an incredible demonstration of skill, power and athleticism, and one that forced some of Europe’s footballing giants sit up and take notice.
(Not the actual scissor kick from that match, but close enough…)
Second, last Monday Sampdoria general manager Beppe Marotta has been quoted saying:
“In the current market, I would compare him with two other players (Milan striker Alberto) Gilardino who was bought for 24 million euros and (Valencia’s Francesco) Tavano (who is valued at) 12 (…) Therefore the value (of Quagliarella) is 15 to 20 million euros.”
Third, just a few hours ago a story has popped up which has Quagliarella agent, Silvio Pagliari saying the following:
“One month ago Manchester United put in an offer of 10 million pounds (14.8 million euros) for Fabio (…) We feel Fabio is worth between 15 and 20 million euros, so if the English club’s offer still stands, it is highly probable he will go abroad.”
So basically Man Utd are being told to confirm the bid, this is obviously a “come and get me” signal from the player.
Apparently, back in March, it was Martin Ferguson who scouted the player at Sampdoria’s game against Palermo. And in this blog entry from Soccerfiesta dating back to April 8th we have a quote from Beppe Marotta admitting an offer from Manchester United for the striker.
Now, I know I shouldn’t rave about how great this lad might be. I know he is inexperienced and unproven. But the boy’s a bit special you see. Not only does he find the back of the net but he makes sure won’t forget it. His fearless approach to the game reminds me of King Eric and his eye for the spectacular results in unforgettable strikes.
Although at 1.80m he is hardly the tall “fox in the box” goal poacher Man Utd fans have been craving for, he is a definite monster when shooting from outside the box and seems to want to a move to Old Trafford. Perhaps he has dreams of an all Italian striking force at United if he is to be coupled with Rossi. Still, he falls into the category of a Rooney-like player; but again so does Tevez, maybe Sir Alex has a formula in mind as to how he might accommodate such a combination. Let’s just wait and see how this one plays out…
Here is a compilation of his goals for those of you have been intrigued by this lad.
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Discussion - 34 Responses
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i think he is worth buying…
But if there is the choice between Torres or Huntleer or Ibramovich, I would not choose him(Torres first choice)
Well with all the other rumours flying around at least this one sounds grounded in truth and very, very promising
So it would be: Rooney, Quagliarella, Rossi, Ole, Dong and Smith/Saha - truly awesome! Like you said not the kind of striker i thought we were going for but i trust in SAF!
13 goals in the 35 games isn’t that good. I just seems like a stropy sterotypical italian to me. We should try are best for Torres, same age, this season in few games while having a bad season. Furthermore torres’ has dropped his buy-out clause to £18million now.
He is fast, good finishing, and he got the strenght to do well in the premiership.. I also think that he is the player who Alex Ferguson is looking for.. We need fast players.. that is what Sir Alex are looking for.. so he would be a great choice, and he is also pretty cheap, his age is also a big plus.. only 23years old..
Looks like he could be a great player. I love the 2nd photo of him. Typically Italian gesture & sums up every cliched expression Italians make on the pitch.
Pity Arsenal doesn’t have the money to get him ;). That’s right! I’m an Arsenal fan!
10m or less would be enough for this unproven striker. The agent is trying to alert other clubs thinking that they might come up with something bigger.
I saw a video on Google that someone put up on another post of some of his goals and this kid is pure quality. His finishing is spot on and he has the rare ability to score spectacular goals with good frequency and and he can head the ball too. He really seems like the complete package and i would love to see him in the red of united. Only problem i see is smith moving on if he comes in .. but I’m hoping its saha who goes instead.
A Would Say Hes Gd Player But A Would Not Be Payin That 10 Million for Him When There sum1 Like Darren Bent Who U Could Be Getting N He Addapted To The Premiership Like No Many Others Do That Quick N His Goal Scorin Over The Season, A Would 16 Million Darren Bent N Join Roony Upfront Or Hunetlaar Klas for 16 Million , Torres 2 Dear He would Of Been a world class player but we just bought Nani, N Anderson, Hargreaves, so a would stick Bent or Huntlaar!!
Yes we should. Cheap and unknown is a good idea. He’d cover Rooney and Saha nicely
I don’t think he is needed because he is a foward and not the striker Manchester United need
http://www.manutd.com/default.sps?pagegid=%7BB4CEE8FA%2D9A47%2D47BC%2DB069%2D3F7A2F35DB70%7D&newsid=436247
Is this the only way he scores???
Absolutely great first touch which sets him up for the astonishing goal. If you watched him this season you will find there is little or no service that he has received from Sampidoria players and has the made the goals out of nothing. Hence only 13 odd goals to show for the season. Now this is a kid who should be playing with great teams where he will receive quality service. With his calibre i dont think he would miss many.
I prefer Quagliarella than Torres or Teves. Cheaper option, and he likes to score spectacular goals. He is a great sharp shooter look out for him he just know where to put the ball in to the net.
Good Day to all red devils all over the world, about this player ( Quagliarella), i think he will be a great signing and a good back up for our strikers,13 goals in 35 matches says it all. if possible, i would love man utd to buy two strikers,maybe him and torres or huntelaar,thanks
[Jade]
I hope the comparison with Gilardino was from a market perspective, because as a player I think Gilardino is shite.
Fabio Quagliarella is a must buy. I been saying this time and time again and i really hope Man Utd gets the player before the italian giants like Ac Milan or Inter Milan wake up and start taking notice. It may even be too late now that he celebrated his first start with italy with two wonderful goals! He is currently playing at Sampdoria and is a 6ft striker with an eye for spectacular goals. IMO he is a typical Man Utd player with his ‘never say die’ and committed attitude. What is more he has explosive pace and is still only 24 years old. He is also a powerful player who would adapt very well with the physical nature of the premiership. Mark my words Quagliarella and Palladino (and hopefully also Rossi) are the future stars of italian football and according to me the former is more suited to the english game as compared to the latter. I read a report some time back that Man Utd was supervising the player so let’s hope something good comes out of it or else next thing we’ll see would be Quagliarella smiling at us with an Ac Milan shirt on!!! If you want more information about this explosive and spectacular striker just check him out on youtube.com
legend in the making the next van basten, united should look at him ahead of torres (overrated,overpriced) and Huntelaar(wants to play for a euro giant like juve) since berbatov is not available…
I 100% agree that Gilardino is shite, and it wasn’t me that made the comparaison it was Beppe Marotta and it was most probably from a market standpoint
Seems like he has good pace and can put the ball in from odd angles. That left footed chip to the far corner on the vid was very Rooney-esque.
I can envision him on the break with Rooney and Ron on the wings. Could be a deadly combo if you ask me…
And besides, it looks like the price is right.
[…] Jade at Soccerlens is quite enthusiastic about him, and really seems to like him. Fair enough. His compilation videos are impressive, especially with those sweet long range shots. However, I am not very convinced about this deal for a reason. If United have to buy a striker, they must buy one who has a more proven and a consistent record. True, Sheva didn’t settle at Chelsea and even other class acts like Morientes have struggled. But at least you are putting money on someone who is proven. Yes, even this argument of mine may seem flawed to some, which brings us to Premiership alternatives that we’ve discussed here in the past. […]
How come no one was saying how Man U should sign this guy a week ago?
Just a thought
Because few people had seen him play before and because he had yet to make his start for the Azzure. Basically, the world has taken notice of Quagliarella’s quality after his Lithuania game, which was his 1st start for the Squadra. He had only played 1 game before (against Scotland) where he came on as a substitute for Luca Toni in min 87.
I think the missing piece is a solid striker who is a good finisher. With the expected good service from the existing and new mid fielders, Man U will be simply awsome. The idea is to be able to strike fast before the other side can recover. So, Man U must go for a good finisher that will strike fear…..
How come no one was saying how Man U should sign this guy a week ago? Well because some idiots who don’t follow Serie A matches have only been focusing on ‘rubbish’ players like Bent or Defoe!!!
HERE ‘Xs from Maurtius’ : Its not as if Serie A matches are on all the time like! how could we watch sampdoria play if they’re never on english tv?! And Bent and Defoe are hardly ‘rubbish’ if thwey both had guarenteed first-team football then they’d score as many goals as quagliarella(by the way im not saying quagliarella is bad, from what I’ve seen he is class! but defoe and bent are good too)
If you have been following Serie A then you ll know what a quality chap he is..Week in week out his goals pop up as one amongst the top 3 goals..He is jst awesome..Even in the match against Lithuania he was jst class..SAF shud go and get him and more over v have been raving bout Torres he has done nothing exceptional according to me
And i jst don understand one thing y is that most of yu only think English players are good!!!If Gilardino is shit then so is Darren Bent whose team got relegated afterall
But Gilardino never does anything, and he’s not even their first choice striker, so i wouldn’t call him good, no worth 17m! And he’s like their 3rd striker behind ronaldo & inzaghi so he barely ever plays.
English people aren’t the only people who think gilardino is shit, i know quite a few AC fans in italy and they think he’s too lazy, so no need for the generalisation there.
News Source: AFP
United up Quagliarella offer
Wed, 20 Jun 2007
Rising Italian star Fabio Quagliarella says Premiership champions Manchester United have increased their offer to bring him to Old Trafford this summer.
“It seems like a serious offer, also because their bid has been increased and is a substantial figure,” Quagliarella was quoted as saying in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Manchester United are a great club and if things turn out this way I would happily go and play in the Premiership. It’s a great, fascinating league.”
Yeah but he also said he would prefer to stay in Italy(probably just for this season) because he wants to become a first team regular for Italy….So not all good news, if we have to wait a year, his price will increase, or we will find out he isn’t actually THAT good…
Hmmmmmmmmmm so theres still hope…..=]