Transfer Speculation: Nani (Manchester United) to Anywhere (£10m)

Neil Custis in The Sun today suggests that Manchester United will offload Nani in Jauary - which seems a reasonable call for a player that has played nearly 100 games for United in two and a half seasons without ever really nailing down a place.

There are a number of comments that Nani has never been given a chance with Ronaldo and now Valencia in his natural slot on the right wing; but in football you often have to prove yourself better than your competition for a place. This season Gabriel Obertan and Danny Welbeck seem to have moved ahead of Nani in the manager's thoughts as well as Ji-Sung Park.

The signs were there in the summer that Sir Alex Ferguson was stocking up on wingers and as a result it is not surprising if Nani is replaced. With the pecking order becoming established other moves could happen. Zoran Tosic has barely had a kick in the year since he signed and he may also be offloaded, with doubts emerging over the purchase of Adem Ljajic. After stocking up last summer United could use January to flog off the excess wingers.

Event Ferguson's attempts to ward off bids by saying:

"Some big clubs have been mentioned for Nani, like Milan and Benfica, but there has been no contact made with us - and we wouldn't entertain selling him anyway"

... might as well have been an open invitation to bid. In manager speak, saying that a player is not for sale, then mentioning some clubs that might be interested is as good as slapping a sandwich board on the player with 'FOR SALE' in big red letters.

United paid a headline figure of £13.5m for Nani in 2007; but it was one of those deals that are heavily weighted on appearances and trophies. I wonder if one of the big money clauses is triggered after 100 games and that if United offloaded him now for £8m - £10m then they would more or less break even on the deal?