Is Obertan the ideal replacement for Valencia?

By Dominic Vieira, writing from Portugal

It’s not been the ideal season start for Manchester United and Antonio Valencia’s long term injury is a huge blow for the team. The right winger fractured his ankle against Rangers on Tuesday night and could be out of action for up to 12 months. Injuries are headaches for managers especially at the start of season because it’s the time when the fixture list is congested with matches and the team needs to find their form.

Alex Ferguson possesses 3 fully fit regular first team wingers at his disposal: Ryan Giggs, Nani and Park Ji-Sung. The vice-captain only plays on the left side and struggles to complete 90 minutes, where as the other two can function on either side, but Nani prefers the left. Another option is required for the flanks, a right winger. A logical and quick re-enforcement would be to field Darren Fletcher on the right as he’s played in that position on several occasions. However, the player lacks the characteristics of the Ecuadorian and would not be an efficient solution.

The final solution and most probable will be to mould Gabriel Obertan into the first team over the following weeks. The young French winger moved to Old Trafford last summer from Bordeaux but his adaptation has been limited due to a series injuries. However, he’s returned to match fitness and played the entire match against the Aston Villa reserves today.

(Source: philosofooty)