Former Aston Villa footballer Gabriel Agbonlahor has hailed Cristiano Ronaldo as the best summer signing this year.
Writing in a column for talkSPORT, Gabriel Agbonlahor has claimed that Cristiano Ronaldo is the best signing of the summer, and his arrival at Manchester United could be “frightening”. But he believes that the Red Devils might not win the Premier League title this season.
Agbonlahor’s column comes just a few days after Ronaldo recently broke Ali Daei’s record to become the all-time highest scorer for men’s international football, starring in the 2-1 win over Ireland by scoring a brace. After the game, the forward was relieved of his international duty by Portugal to head back to Manchester for his season preparations, having joined from Juventus on Deadline Day.
Agbonlahor believes that the Portuguese icon can be the missing piece in the jigsaw, as far as the Manchester United attack is concerned. He has also hailed Ronaldo’s fitness and quality, claiming that he will be faster than the majority of the Premier League defenders.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is undoubtedly the signing of the summer in the Premier League. Obviously, I was happy for my friend Jack Grealish getting his record-breaking move to Manchester City, but it’s Ronaldo. Nothing tops his move back to Manchester United.”
“He might be 36 but, make no mistake, he is still an outstanding player. He was top goalscorer for Juventus last season, top goalscorer in the Euros, and now the top international goalscorer of all-time.”
Agbonlahor, who made almost 400 competitive appearances for Aston Villa and had faced Ronaldo during his first spell at Manchester United, went on to praise the attacker’s brilliance. At the same time, he has also hailed Manchester United’s shrewd work in the transfer market this summer.
However, the 34-year-old believes all these signings might not be enough to hand Manchester United the title in the Premier League this term. He is firm that the Red Devils need a new midfielder who can orchestrate things in the middle of the park.
“Just to attract a massive signing like that shows how Man United are trying to win trophies this season. He’ll have a huge impact on that dressing room. But will it be enough to win Man United the Premier League title? No, I don’t think it will. I still think they are missing a key part of the jigsaw – a midfielder that can control games.”
Agbonlahor’s comments certainly reflect the reality in the Manchester United camp as there were many calls from the fans to sign a defensive midfielder on deadline day. Unfortunately, a move did not materialise, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is certainly expected to return to the market in January in the hopes of snapping a quality number six.