'Controversial' wildcard transfer option set for Manchester United audition

Manchester United's summer transfer window is set to be an exciting one after securing Champions League football for next season

We are a matter of weeks away from the end of the Premier League season and Manchester United head into the summer in much better health than they did last year. Champions League football and the riches it brings have been secured and there should be brighter times ahead for the club.

Michael Carrick's accomplishment will be praised long after the season ends, but merely qualifying for the Champions League is not success. United should always be competing in Europe's biggest competition and their return to the Champions League has to be the starting point, rather than the final destination.

With that in mind, United will be expected to splash the cash this summer to improve their squad for what's to come. Their landmark signing has to be a new defensive midfielder. Casemiro will leave Old Trafford when his contract expires this summer and the hunt for his replacement has already begun.

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As always, there are plenty of options being discussed for this pivotal role. This week, an interesting suggestion was put forward by Peter Schmeichel. "I have one (signing), maybe controversial in thinking, but I think we should go and sign [Granit] Xhaka," he told The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.

"Cheaper. I make my case, we are going to build a team around Kobbie [Mainoo]. Casemiro is leaving. Bring in [Adam] Wharton and [Elliot] Anderson or whatever, who are still young. What we don’t have really is proper leadership. When I look and see what Xhaka has done at Sunderland, he is the reason why they are absolutely amazing.

"His leadership qualities are great, he can play 80 per cent of the games, and he is a very good player. I know he can do it. If he does one or two years, we need leadership."

On the surface, it would be easy to shun this as a bad idea. United would be replacing one ageing player with another but in many ways Xhaka fits the bill for the Reds.

He has the proven Premier League experience, both with Sunderland and Arsenal, that Ineos have targeted of late. As Schmeichel mentioned, Xhaka would also be a lot cheaper than Casemiro, with his salary a fraction of the Brazil international's.

Xhaka has also shown this season he can be a key player in the Premier League. While injured at the end of January, going into February, Sunderland lost three of their four games.

Since being fit enough to start, the Black Cats have lost just three of eight matches. This weekend, Xhaka could well audition for a spot in United's squad next season.

Very few midfield players linked with a move to Old Trafford this summer have made particularly strong cases when they've come up against United. Carlos Baleba was poor for Brighton, and was eventually subbed, while Wharton and Anderson both had quiet games.

Were Xhaka to impress, especially given he would be a relatively cheap option, he would perhaps give Ineos food for thought. He would by no means be the player United want to start alongside Kobbie Mainoo, but United will need to sign more than one midfielder this summer and Casemiro's exit will see a lot of experience head for the Old Trafford exit door.

A strong showing on Saturday would give Michael Carrick plenty to think about.

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