Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel rues missed opportunity to sign Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos

Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel recently expressed regret that the Red Devils had missed their chance to sign Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos as a replacement for veteran Michael Carrick. 

 

The recent performances of English midfielder Michael Carrick are indicative of just how badly Manchester United need a player like him in the team. However, manager Jose Mourinho recent suggested that he cannot start the 35-year-old week in and week out given his advancing years.

The Red Devils are yet to find a replacement for Carrick, despite spending over £200 million on central midfielders in the past couple of years. Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel was recently conversing with his followers on Twitter regarding this issue and agreed with the suggestion that the club needed a true replacement for Carrick.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos was mentioned as a possible option. Schmeichel rates the player highly, but rued the fact that United had missed the chance to sign the former Bayern Munich player.

The Germany midfielder was one of the top targets for Manchester United in 2014. It was even believed that he had agreed a deal in principle with the club before David Moyes was sacked. However, incoming Dutch manager Louis van Gaal reportedly pulled the plug on the deal, and Kroos ended up joining Real Madrid from Bayern for £20 million.

That is a paltry sum compared to what Man United spent that summer on the likes of Angel Di Maria and Ander Herrera. Van Gaal brought in a boatload of midfielders the next summer as well, including Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin, who have barely featured under Jose Mourinho.

This past summer saw Mourinho break the bank for United’s youth academy product and one of the most highly rated midfielders in the world, Paul Pogba.

None of these players have been able to completely replace Carrick so far, although Spaniard Ander Herrera looks to be the pick of the lot. The bargain buy of Kroos could have done United a world of good if the deal had gone through back in 2014.

Leave Comment

Recommended

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.